After The End
by AwsomeSauce007
Summary: Ever wonder what happens after Scorpia Rising? Captured, tortured, then rescued. Alex Rider will never be the same again. Mrs. Jones sends him off to a past friend of hers, hoping he might recover some of his old self. *Note* Rated T. I also do not own the cover. Also! This was written before, "Never Say Die!"
1. Prologue

**A/N**

So hey to anyone who may be reading this. As you can see, I'm new to this app/site and I'd appreciate any feedback you'd be willing to give. I don't bite. I promise. ;)

I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but Wattpad is where I currently write anything to show to the public. I just recently discovered FanFiction and decided to try it out!

So here I am!

This book is actually completed and I'll be uploading a chapter every other day right now.

This book is also the _very_ first book I'd _ever_ written and I haven't really edited, _edited_ it like I need to. _(I literally had no idea what I was doing.)_ But this book has a second one that I can safely say is a lot better.

So bear with me please. I hope to rewrite this book in the near future!

 **I don't own Anything Alex Rider related!*** But I do own the plot and my characters!

Enjoy!

{MI6 headquarters, London}

Mrs. Jones (POV)

 _Two Light Bombers fly over the rundown observatory, each letting a single GBU-53/B small diameter bomb drop from them. Walls immediately crumble, dust exploding everywhere, ground shaking tremendously. The last of Scorpias people run out of the exits in a panic, agents from MI6 corralling them up and assisting with any injuries. K Unit from SAS on standby for extraction. The bombers make one more pass, each deploying three bombs this time. And when the shaking of the ground finally stops and the dust in the air settles. K-Unit lead by Wolf, make their way inside. Fifteen minutes later, they reappear at the doorway, the body of a bedraggled young man laying limp in Wolfs arms. They appear worrie-_

A knock on the door breaks me from my concentration, eyes flickering over towards the door.

I keep my hands paused over the keyboard, fingers posed to continue my report that was due last week.

Another knock sounds on the door.

"Come in." I look back down at my computer-screen, my senses now on full alert.

The door opens.

Glancing up, I see it's the new intern. I let myself relax. Rolling my neck to get the cricks out that currently plague my joints, I get started back to typing my report.

And that's when I notice it's awfully quiet in here. I look back up and see he's just standing there, looking quite uncomfortable if I do say so myself.

I tend to do that to people.

"Mrs. Jones?" He hesitantly asks, shifting his feet around while looking down at the floor.

A couple seconds tick by.

"Yes." I ask monotone.

Startled, he takes a step back, his face swinging up. "I um, just came to t-tell you t-that you have a message Mrs. Jones." He stutters out, his face going a shade redder.

I raise an eyebrow. "From?" I question, still monotone.

He looks genuinely confused, glancing down at a piece of paper in his hands. "Um, the Hospital." He timidly says.

And with that one word, my heart feels like its literally stopped.

Please don't let it be bad news.

"What's it say?" I quietly ask, sitting up straighter.

"It just says...He's awake." He replies, voice fading.

Oh thank god. It's been a week since he was rescued and immediately rushed to the Hospital. His condition critical.

He'd been in a coma that whole week, the Doctor saying he might not make it. But now he's awake.

I shouldn't have doubted him. If anyone could make it through this...this ordeal, it would be him.

I sink back into my spinning chair, twirling around to face the window. My resolve to finish that report, disappearing completely.

"Leave." I quietly demand.

Footsteps, then I hear the door click shut.

Turning back around, my eyes land on a stack of files that I can't find the heart to put away.

Slowly, I reach out and pick them up. Reading the names that I've looked at so many times over the last month.

JACK STARBRIGHT

DECEASED 

TOM HARRIS

DECEASED 

EDWARD PLEASURE

DECEASED

LIZ PLEASURE

DECEASED 

SABINA PLEASURE

DECEASED

It's hard to believe that just a month ago, they were all alive and kicking. And now...

Now, they're six feet under the ground.

I sigh. I suppose I should go visit him now. But I can't seem to get up. I lightly laugh. I don't think anyone would be particularly excited to go and visit someone that has _all_ the reasons in the world, to accuse you of _ruining_ their life.

Which it _is_ my fault.

I helped ruin it. I should've stopped this sooner. But No. I had to go along with it and now look what's happened.

Scowling at myself, I stand up.

Time to face the music.

I start walking towards the door, but a single, abandoned file catches my eye. Stopping me in my tracks.

I delicately pick it up. The thick, rough paper scratching against the skin of my hands.

Walking over to the file cabinet, I open it up, placing the file inside. Once I shut it, I let a deep breath out.

That last file's name will _always_ be branded in my brain, for as long as I live. Along with plenty of _other_ things.

Then a thought strikes me. Stopping me in my tracks.

Who is he going to live with now?

Everyone's gone, and in the state he's in I can't just let him be sent off to some orphanage.

I can't keep him, he needs a good stable home that's far away from here.

Far away from this horrible spot.

He's only 15 years old, and yet he's gone through more than most adults go through in their whole lifetime.

There has to be _something_ I can do.

Another thought hits me. "Lucy." I mutter out loud to myself.

That's it. Why hadn't I thought of that possible solution before?

Lucy lives on a farm in North America, Ohio. It would be perfect, she's always wanted to be a foster parent.

And there's still all summer before we have to decide what he's doing for school. He could help out on the farm, get better, then maybe even attend the public school there.

I walk back over to my computer. Sitting down, I pull up her Email.

We still talk frequently, but I haven't actually _seen_ her in-person since we got out of College.

However many years ago that was.

I think it's high time for a visit.

But I can't tell her _everything_. I'll just have to leave out _most_ of the details.

I frown.

More like everything.

As I begin typing, my mind flashes back to the last file. And I see the bold words engraved on the front.

ALEX RIDER

PERMANENTLY OUT OF ACTION 

**A/N** _(Yes another one.)_

As I said up there, I'd appreciate any feedback possible!

Also! This book has some content that may be sensitive to some viewers. Rated PG-13 due to; Mild language, blood, and descriptive torture scenes.


	2. Chapter 1

_***I do not own Alex Rider***_

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

 _Water._

 _There's water everywhere._

 _I can't hear anything and it's pitch black._

 _My mind in a tangle of confusion, except for one frantic thought._

 _I'm running out of breath._

 _I try going up, but there's a wall blocking the way. I start to panic. I can feel my heart speeding up, bubbles coming out of my mouth in a silent scream of terror._

 _Can't breath!_

 _Then finally, when I feel I'm about to lose consciousness, the wall gives away and I'm being pulled up out of the water._

 _My head breaks the surface._

 _I gasp, sucking up great gulps of delicious air._

 _I can breath again._

 _Slowly, my vision starts to work and I can make out the blurry shape of a small room._

 _It looks like a cell room out of an old black and white movie._

 _With solid brick walls and just one door on the far side of the room, no windows. On the right, I see two sets of chains hanging from the ceiling. And on the left, I make out what looks like an operating table._

 _With blotches of a red substance on it._

 _My eyes widen._

 _Oh no. Not here. Please god, anywhere but here._

 _I look back towards the door, only to find a figure now standing in the entrance._

 _I'm already trembling, and I can feel my heart pick up again. He walks closer, and I make out the unmistakable face of the person who ruined my life._

 _Razim._

 _I become aware of hands on my shoulders, keeping me from moving. I look down and notice I'm kneeling in front of a large bucket of black water._

 _The hands tighten with a vice grip on my shoulders, making a gasp escape my mouth as a sharp pain runs down my spine._

 _My ears fill with the loud breathing of the person behind me._

 _I look back up and see Razim's smirking face only a couple inches away from mine._

 _He's staring straight at me, and I stare back._

 _Finally, he breaks the staring contest and looks behind me, giving a small nod._

 _My throat tightens._

 _I feel my heartbeat accelerate even faster, like it's trying to jump out of my chest._

 _The hands on my shoulders tense._

 _Then feeling like I already can't breathe, I start getting pushed forward towards the water again._

 _Seeing it getting closer and closer, a wall of never ending blackness._

 _I start thrashing, screaming, anything not to go back down. But I feel the hands tighten more and push even harder._

 _Then I'm plunging back into endless darkness._

I wake up with a jerk.

The sound of my heartbeat echoes loudly in my ears.

Confused for a second, I look around and notice I'm in a car with Mrs. Jones. Not back at that awful place.

I let out a big breath of air I hadn't even noticed I'd been holding.

I hate nightmares. Haven't been able to sleep without them for the past two months. You would think you'd get used to it, but you don't.

At least not me.

Lost in thought, I jump when I feel something touch my arm.

"You alright Alex?"

"Fine, Mrs. Jones." I mumble out, turning my body away from her outstretched arm.

She looks over at me, giving me the 'I-don't-believe-you' look. That sadly, I've gotten used to seeing.

I look down, not wanting to talk, immediately noticing my hands are shaking. Quickly, I tuck them under my thighs.

Trying to calm down, I take stock of what's going on. Today is July 1st and it's-I glance over at the cars clock-4:17 P.M. Mrs. Jones is taking me to some old College friend of hers that lives on a farm here in Ohio.

I look out my window at the scenery. Trees, bushes, cows, a lot of fields, and a few hills here and there.

Yup, looks like Ohio to me.

I still can't believe I let her talk me into this, not that I really had any option. It was either _this_ , or some Orphanage in Wales that deals specifically for Troubled Teens.

I just wanted to go home, lock myself in my old room and not come back out. Ever.

But _No_ , that's not allowed.

I let a sigh out.

"Alex, we should be there in 10 minutes, as-long as I don't get us lost again."

I look back over at . She's leaning forward, staring intently outside the front window.

Not bothering to answer, I turn back to my window, leaning my head against the cool glass as I listen to the comforting sound of the car-engine.

Yes, in ten minutes I'll be left all by-myself with strangers on a continent thousands of miles away from where I've lived my whole life.

Excuse me if I can't find a reason to celebrate.

I can feel sweat start to gather down my back, armpits, and neck. I don't bother with trying to wipe any off though, It'll just come back.

"We're here Alex, just the driveway left."

I look around at the view. We're now off the road on a long gravel driveway going up a hill, fields full of tall green grass on each side of us.

Once we reach the top of the hill, I can see a big red barn with a couple of what I assume are chicken coops beside it.

Then along another hill that's a ways away, I make out a couple one-story houses. Those I have no idea what they're for, because they definitely _aren't_ the main house.

The two story house is white and looks like it's smack dab right in the middle of the property. A white picket fence surrounds the house. A couple big oak trees are spread around the yard, one with a tire swing. Complete with a little apple orchard right outback.

It looks nice, but that doesn't mean anything. For all Mrs. Jones knows they could all be Killers.

With that thought, I feel my hands start shaking again, my breathing getting a little faster.

Calm down Alex. It's just you over imagining again, Mrs. Jones wouldn't leave you with Killers.

The reassurance doesn't help much.

Finally I have to ask.

"H-how long are you staying for?"

Darn it, I stuttered. Now she'll get all concerned.

I mean, I will admit that I'll miss Mrs. Jones. She's the only one left from my old life.

And from all her visits to the Hospital throughout this last month, we've gotten pretty close I would say.

Well, as close as you can get to the _Head_ of MI6.

Mrs. Jones glances over at me with that concerned look again.

I roll my eyes, looking away.

"I was planning on staying a half an hour or so."

I feel my heart miss a beat.

That short of time?

"Do you need me to stay longer, Alex?" She looks over at me again.

Yes. But I can't say that. I'm tired of _everyone_ thinking I'm some fragile tea set that'll break at any sudden movement. Which I probably would, but no one needs to know that.

"No, I'll be fine." I mumble out.

"Alright if your sure...?"

"Yes."

We drive up to the house, and Mrs. Jones pulls into a parking spot. Switching off the engine, she turns to me.

"Alright Alex, we're here." She gives me a small smile.

"I noticed." I sarcastically say.

"Now Alex, there's no need to be snarky."

I roll my eyes once again, making a move to exit the car. But Mrs. Jones gently grabs my arm, and I warily look back at her.

"Alex I know your nervous, but Mrs. Brown is a very nice woman. We've been friends since our College years." She sincerely says.

"A lot can change in twenty years." I mumble out before I can stop myself.

Mrs. Jones gives me the stink eye before replying.

"It's only been 17 years _Alex._ And I know I haven't seen her in-person since then, but we call each other often." She looks thoughtful.

"But that's besides the point, she's very nice and so is her husband. So give them a chance."

"And Alex, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. About everything." Her usual hard eyes soften just a fraction.

I stay quiet, my guarded eyes meeting hers for just a second.

I break eye contact, turning back towards the car door as I get ready to exit once again. She doesn't stop me this time.

I step out of the door, the smell of freshly cut grass mixed with cow manure with a slightly sweet smell immediately assaults my nose.

I shut the door behind me, standing by the car as I try to calm my shaking hands. Mrs. Jones walks up beside me, carrying my one piece of luggage.

She hands me my duffle bag, and I stuff my hands in my pockets. Then together we walk towards the front porch.

When we're just about to step onto the porch, the squeak of rusty hinges makes us look up. Someone comes bounding down the stairs, wrapping Mrs. Jones up in a bear hug.

This must be Mrs. Brown.

She's about five foot six, early 40's, petite build with a heart shaped face framed with long black hair, kind brown eyes complete with a button nose.

 _Finally_ they break apart.

"Tulip, it's been so long!" Mrs. Brown exclaims.

"I know Lucy, too long." Mrs. Jones says, a small smile surprisingly on her lips.

Mrs. Brown looks curiously over at me, and I meet her gaze for a split second before looking back down at my shoes.

"Alex, this is Mrs. Brown. Mrs. Brown this is, Alex!" Mrs. Jones introduces, even adding some excitement to her voice.

"Well hello there, Alex! It's a pleasure to meet you." She gives me a warm smile.

She offers me her hand, and I automatically return the gesture.

Hey, I still have manners.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Brown." I quietly say, keeping my eyes downcast.

"It's Lucy, just Lucy. I can't stand being called Mrs, makes me sound old."

She smiles at me again, ushering us inside.

"Come in, no need to stand around out in the heat."

As we go in, we walk immediately into a comfortable looking living room that has a couple sofas and a large flat screen TV attached to the wall.

A delicious smell wafts over from the next room over, which must be the Kitchen.

Mrs. Jones immediately smells the food.

"Lucy, did you cook that? it smells absolutely scrumptious." She closes her eyes, taking a whiff of the air.

"Why yes I did. And It's just some fried chicken and potatoes, nothing horribly hard to cook." Mrs. Brown carelessly waves a hand, obviously trying to play it off as nothing.

"Please sit down, I'll grab y'all some water." She heads over to the kitchen area.

As she leaves, me and Mrs. Jones sit down on one of the sofas, the room growing quiet. After a few thick seconds, I see her look over at me from the corner of my eye.

"Remember Alex, I didn't tell her anything about your involvement with MI6."

"I know, you just said you were _friends_ with one of my relatives." I reply, leaning my elbow against the armrest of the sofa.

If only.

"Yes, but remember you can tell her everything. She'll listen, and I think you need that."

I'm about to make a retort about how she doesn't know _what_ I need. When Mrs-I mean Lucy, comes back carrying a tray with a pitcher of ice water, two cups, and a bowl of grapes.

"Here you go, some nice cold water after that long trip."

She hands me a glass, and I take it. Making a move to get a drink, I quickly put it down on the little coffee table as I notice my hand is still shaking, the ice clinking quietly against the glass.

I inconspicuously look up at Lucy, relieved to see she didn't notice. I stuff my hand back in my pocket.

While they're busy catching up on news, I look around the room, giving special attention to the dozens of family pictures hanging around.

There's some when Lucy is younger, where she's with who I'm assuming is her family. Then there's a wedding picture. She's dressed up in a big white dress, looking over at the camera with a huge smile on her face. Her arms wrapped around a tall man wearing a tuxedo; her husband, Mr. Brown.

He looks about six foot four, a couple years older than Lucy. Muscular with a square face, chiseled jaw, tough blue eyes framed with middle length blond hair, complete with a long nose.

I return to the present when I hear Mrs. Jones say something about medication.

Yes I take medication, don't look so surprised.

I look over at them, seeing that Mrs. Jones has given Lucy my bag of prescribed pills and the schedule.

I have it memorized, but I'm not supposed to be in charge of them. Apparently I'm not "old enough," being only fifteen.

Oh yeah, because I definitely haven't done things that no 'younger' person should've done.

Let's see. I take them for breakfast, lunch, supper and in between each meal. Although soon I'm supposed to only take them at each meal, a schedule change. And let me just say, I'm not looking forward to it.

"Alright, it's time I left." Mrs. Jones announces.

My chest tightness.

What. It's been that long already?

Sweat starts pooling down my back, and I can feel some sticking my hair to my forehead.

I quickly wipe it away.

"Tulip, your not staying for supper?" Mrs. Brown sadly asks.

"No, it's best I go. Duty calls." Mrs. Jones flashes a smile.

I zone out while they bicker, one thought running through my head.

I don't want her to leave.

Frantically, I look around. Maybe if I said I feel bad?...No, that wouldn't work, I always feel bad.

Then surprisingly, I feel tears gather in my eyes.

I quickly wipe them off.

I will not cry.

I see Mrs. Jones and Lucy get up, heading towards the door. I quickly follow, my head tucked down low.

We step outside and Mrs. Jones gives Lucy one more hug, whispering a quick word to her.

She walks over to me, stopping right in front of me as she just stares at me in quiet for a few seconds. Then slowly, she wraps her arms around me in a hug.

I tense up, standing completely still.

Today I've seen her show more emotion then I've seen throughout the three years I've known her.

I slowly take my hands out of my pockets, delicately wrapping them around her, my head landing on her shoulder.

I almost break down crying right then and there, containing it to just a couple tears falling.

I feel her grip loosen as she prepares to let go. "Take care, Alex." She takes a step back, and I quickly wipe the few tears away-the evidence.

"You too." I whisper.

She smiles, giving me a look that I understand as "you can trust them."

I give a slight nod in acknowledgement.

She turns, walking down the deck stairs towards her rental car.

She suddenly turns back to face us. "I'll hopefully be back to visit in a couple weeks. And Alex, you have my number if you need me." She pauses. "Bye."

Me and Lucy watch her drive-away until we can't see the car anymore. A sinking feeling washing over me as the last shred of my old life leaves with her.

Then Lucy turns toward me.

"Alright Alex! lets go get you settled into your new home."

 **A/N**

Please excuse how horribly this is written! I'm fully aware. As I've said before, I wrote this around a year ago and I plan to rewrite it sometime soon.

 _ **Review!** It's much appreciated!_


	3. Chapter 2

***I do not own Alex Rider***

* * *

 _ **Lucy's (POV)**_

"Alright, Alex! Let's go get you settled into your new home." I walk inside, Alex trailing along behind me.

I'm not quite sure what to think about Alex to be honest.

Tulip had emailed me about three weeks ago saying she had a favor to ask. So I called her up, and it turns out she wanted to know if I was still interested in being a foster parent. I told her that I was, but just hadn't gotten around to finding anyone or doing the paperwork.

So she sends me this:

 **-Alex Rider**

 **-15**

 **-all relatives deceased**

 **Medical Evaluation;**

 **-PTSD, Abdominal Trauma, Depression**

That's all she could send. Apparently all his personal information is " _Classified_." Didn't even have a picture of the boy.

Tulip had specifically said that it couldn't be just _anyone_ that took Alex in. She apparently was a friend of one of his relatives and couldn't just watch him get wheeled off to some orphanage.

It took me about a week to make up my mind.

I was going to say no at first. Thinking, I can't bring in some foreign boy that I don't know _anything_ about besides a few facts. Or how he even has PTSD for heavens sake.

I wouldn't know what to do.

But then I thought about all those poor children all across the world that don't have any parents, or _anyone_ to look after them for that matter.

And I decided that _this_ is a chance, a chance for me to do something right in the world.

No one deserves to grow up without someone to care for them, to love them.

So I talked it over with my husband. He was a bit reluctant at first, wanting to know why his information was classified. But he's a real sweetheart and soon gave in.

After all, we always wanted to be foster parents.

So I phoned Tulip our answer. She was extremely grateful and a bit relieved if I'm being honest, going on to tell me that she could bring him up in about two weeks. And if everything works out during summer break, then she'll personally get him signed up for school.

And that's how I became a foster parent.

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting when they showed up. But Alex looked nothing like how I imagined him to be.

Judging by how much taller he is then me, I'd say he's probably about 5 foot 10. Dirty-blond hair hangs in his eyes, falling down to his ears and ending to where it just barely brushes the back of his shirt collar in a messy style. He seems rather skinny, almost to the extent he looks unhealthy. But I can still make out the obvious signs of an athletically active person.

I also noticed he has a thin, white scar that goes up the right side of his neck. Ending up behind his ear.

But what stuck out the most, are his brown eyes. They to put it shortly; looked like they had seen far _too_ much for any fifteen year old.

Now I'm showing Alex the kitchen.

"Alex, this is the kitchen." I wave my hand around to indicate the room like he wouldn't be able to identify it himself, looking back over at Alex.

He just stands there, his head angled down so his bangs hang slightly over his eyes - as-if he was trying to hide them.

So far Alex hasn't spoken a single word, silently staying in the background. But Tulip had told me beforehand that he was a bit shy and timid to new people.

I walk up the staircase after I finish in the kitchen, immediately turning to the right as I reach the top. Stopping in front of the bedroom door, I open it up, walking inside.

Smiling, I turn, watching as Alex cautiously steps inside. His eyes examining the whole room.

After a moment, I take a step back, exiting the room.

"The bathroom is the first door on the right." I tell him, watching as his eyes fall back down to the ground.

I hesitate at the door, a thought hitting me.

"Oh, and I don't know if you heard me earlier but Mr. Brown will be back for supper at six."

Alex looks up from his shoes.

I give him another smile, inching the door shut. "Alright, make yourself at home. I'll leave you to freshen up after that long trip. You can find your way back to kitchen right?" I ask, my eyes examining his face.

"Yes. Thank you Mrs...I mean Lucy." He whispers out, eyes falling yet again back down to the floor.

He seems sweet.

"Alright, I'll see you at six!" I smile.

And with that, I walk out of the room, shutting the door behind me as I go. My destination: the kitchen.

While I'm working on getting supper ready, I think back to when Tulip left.

She had hugged me one last time, her sad voice whispering words into my ear. _"Take care of him please. Only god knows how much he needs someone to love him."_

And I'm determined to do just that. It's obvious how traumatized he is, how every sudden movement or loud noise sends him on high alert. Now I don't know what he's been through, what he's done.

But I'm going to be there for him.

* * *

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

Lucy shuts the door, and I'm left standing in the middle of the room.

I let a breath out.

I suppose there's no point in moping around. I look around again at the decent sized room. Not too big, not too small.

The walls are a dark blue with white trim, a black window-shade hanging across the single window. A small clothes-dresser in one corner, a hamper beside it. A small closet located on the left side of the single bed that's over in the far corner of the room. A nightstand with a simple lamp beside it, a digital clock to complete it.

I walk over towards the dresser, unpacking the clothes from my duffle-bag.

Which isn't very much.

I grab a black long sleeve shirt and jeans, heading out of the room.

After I've changed and taken care of business in the bathroom, I check my watch.

5:48 P.M.

Twelve minutes to six. Might as well start preparing myself for going downstairs.

I sit down on the edge of the bed, taking a couple deep breaths.

Alright, time to go meet Mr. Brown.

I stand up.

A gasp immediately escapes my mouth as sharp needle-like-stabs run through my stomach, twisting and turning.

That hurt.

Stupid stomach has to act up right now...

Fantastic.

I grit my teeth, wrapping my left arm around my stomach.

I take a couple small steps around the room until the pain fades enough for me to walk somewhat normally.

Doing some deep breathing for a couple minutes beside the door, I relax my tense posture. Then I grab the door handle, opening it up.

Walking out, I go down the stairs. Turning left at the bottom, I stop right outside the kitchen where I can hear movement on the other side of the door.

Calm down Alex, your just going to eat supper with Lucy and her husband.

But even wth my own reassurance I still feel myself start to sweat again, hands shaking.

One last deep breath, then I walk in.

Lucy's setting some food items down on a table which is situated at the far side of the kitchen.

And sitting down at the head of the table, is the man from Lucy's wedding picture. Only now he's older, his hair a bit shorter.

He's talking to Lucy when he suddenly stops, head turning to look at me.

Surprised, I feel my heart jump, my breathing getting slightly faster. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I look down. Somewhat reluctant, I walk over to them, stopping near Lucy.

"Ah, there you are!" Lucy happily says.

"Alex, this is my husband." She introduces, gesturing over to the man.

He stands up while placing his napkin down on the table, holding out his hand for a handshake. "Nice to finally meet you, Alex. I'm Don." His face remains impassive.

Slowly, I reach my hand out. Noticing that it's trembling like a leaf on a windy day, I quickly shake his hand, stuffing them back in my pockets.

He raises an eyebrow at me, and I feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

I quickly look down again, the air around me only seeming to grow heavier.

Lucy noticing the awkwardness, pulls out a chair and offers it to me.

I sit down, mumbling out a thank you.

"Why your welcome, Alex." She gently replies.

I can still feel Don staring at me, his gaze searing the side of my face.

Lucy sits down, both of them bowing their heads in a quick prayer. When they're done, Lucy starts dishing out mashed potatoes.

"Would you like some, Alex?" Lucy asks, looking at me with a questioning gaze.

"Yes ma'am." I mumble out, keeping my head tucked down in-between my shoulders.

She gives me a big spoonful and a hunk of Fried chicken. I pick up my fork, beginning to eat.

Thankfully, seems to of lost interest in me now that he's digging into his food.

But that doesn't last long.

"So Alex, you do any sports or have any hobbies?" Don asks me, his fork pausing just long enough for him to talk.

I finish chewing my chicken, trying to regain some confidence.

About to call it football, I quickly change it to the American word.

"I p-played Soccer, sir." I sadly stumble out, sitting a tad straighter.

He raises an eyebrow in surprise again, and I feel my cheeks heat up once more.

"Is that so! Don used to play also." Lucy enthusiastically says.

"Hon, that was almost twenty years ago." Don stresses out.

Lucy gives her husband a look.

"It's never too late to play again." She discreetly mumbles out into her fried chicken she's holding.

I go back to eating, but then another sudden sharp jab in my stomach almost makes me gasp out-loud.

I glance over at the clock.

It's time for my dose of pills I take at supper time, but I don't want to just blurt that little fact out.

I'll just have to wait.

Thankfully, about five minutes later, Lucy suddenly gets up and goes over to a cupboard. Taking something out, she brings it over to me.

"Alex, you'll have to remind me about these. I almost forgot." She frantically tells me, looking slightly embarrassed.

She hands me a little plastic cup with a couple pills in it. I put them in my mouth, getting a drink of water. Once again, I notice Don looking over at me with a blank face.

It's like he's trying to figure me out.

After I eat about half the food on my plate, I can't make myself eat anymore. Which that's probably the most I've eaten in _one_ meal throughout the span of two months.

Feeling like if I eat on more bite I'll throw up. I scoot my plate a little ways forward.

"Are you done eating, Alex?" Lucy questions when she notices I've stopped.

"Yes, thank you. May I be excused." I ask.

"Your excused sweetie. But are you going to bed already? It's only seven." Her brow rises, and I hear the surprise in her voice.

I nod my head as an answer. Then I quickly look at them, mumbling a quiet goodnight.

They return one.

I get back to my room, grabbing my PJ's. A plain black long sleeve shirt and wool pants.

I head into the bathroom, showering and getting ready for bed. Once I'm back in my room, I just lay on my bed, curling up as I hold my aching stomach.

Knowing it's going to be a long night.

* * *

 **A/N**

Well, here's chapter two! Please excuse the grammar, spelling and just the general way it's written! Bear with me, I promise it gets better...eventually.

 **Review**! Tell me what your thoughts are so far!


	4. Chapter 3

_***I do not own Alex Rider***_

* * *

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

 _Something hard slaps me in the face._

 _I jerk awake, my eyes snapping wide open._

 _Everything hurts, a fog of never ending pain swirling around inside me as I slowly raise my head to look around._

 _Dread fills me._

 _I'm back in that nasty cell room._

 _Taking stock of my situation, I notice my wrists are attached to chains that are dangling me from the ceiling, my bare cold feet just barely touching the ground. Like a dead pig getting ready to be butchered._

 _It's not like I have the strength to hold myself up anyways._

 _So I just hang there. Tears gathering in my eyes as my shoulders burn like a red hot fire, my wrists raw and irritated from the metal restraints wrapped around them._

 _I look up as I hear a short, throaty laugh._

 _Right in front of me is one of Razim's big goons, his minion-who I'm predicting was the one that slapped me awake._

 _"Aww, is the great Alex Rider crying?...Again." He starts cracking up like he just said the worlds funniest joke._

 _I look back down at the grubby floor, the tears starting to roll down my dirty cheeks._

 _I hate crying in front of them. At first I did a good job to contain it, to keep it all inside. But as the days turned into weeks, I found myself slowly breaking._

 _Now I find I'm crying almost all the time._

 _Stupid emotions._

 _"Rat! Quit that racket or I'll chop off your other ear." A menacing voice shouts from just outside the small room._

 _That immediately shuts Rat up._

 _Yes Rat, I have no idea why his henchmen are named Rat and Stick. But I have a hunch it has to do with Rat being fat/muscular and Stick being, well...stick thin._

 _I hear his footsteps echo in from the hall, each one sending spikes of fear through my heart. Then the man himself walks in._

 _Razim._

 _He immediately walks over to me, eyes examining my still body. Smirking, he roughly grabs my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye._

 _"So how is our dear Alex Rider today?" He smugly questions, his eyes looking deeply into mine as he looks for some unknown something. "Hmm, not so good I see." He answers his own question._

 _He lets go of me, my chin falling back down to my chest._

 _At this point I'm trembling all over, my breathing coming out in painful gasps._

 _Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Razim stalks over to his little table over in the corner. The table with all his "Tools"on it._

 _My heart beats so fast I don't know how it's still in my chest, tiny whimpers escaping my mouth._

 _I bite down on my tongue, trying to stop them._

 _But it's impossible._

 _Razim picks up a long thick whip. Then slowly begins to walk back towards me, a sinister smile on his lips, eyes alight with madness._

 _I scrunch up, trying to make myself as small as possible while stuck standing. My muscles tensing to the point it's painful as they prepare for the agony that's soon to come._

 _Razim raises his arm up with the whip, preparing to strike me. Only it never comes._

 _There's a loud explosion that rocks the whole room, dust falling from the ceiling, everyone falling to the floor as it shifts from beneath them._

 _Except me, because I'm chained up obviously._

 _Razim is the first to get up._

 _"What the bloody hell was that!?" He shouts, completely enraged._

 _Someone suddenly comes running in, their breathing heavy._

 _Julius Grief: my fake twin._

 _"Razim! It's MI6, we're being bombed." Julius shouts, Frantically looking over at Razim._

 _MI6._

 _My heart stops at that one word. Something I'd given up on suddenly running through me at full speed._

 _Hope._

 _Razim storms over, smacking Julius square in the face._

 _"Well then fix it!" Razim yells in fury._

 _Julius holds a hand up to his red cheek, a surprised expression on his face. "I-I can't, this place isn't made for combat. We'll have to evacuate." He tells him, eyes wide._

 _For a couple long agonizing seconds, Razim stares at Julius with bloodshot eyes that can only belong to a madman._

 _Then he turns his hateful gaze on me._

 _I flinch._

 _He walks over, each step echoing throughout the room._

 _"Well Alex, it looks like our little fun together will have to be cut short." He stops directly in front of me._

 _"Indefinitely." He smirks, leaning a bit closer to me._

 _"Goodbye, Alex." The smirk disappears, a strange look filling his eyes for a split second._

 _Then he swiftly turns on his heels, heading out the door. But not before saying one last thing that makes me freeze up in terror._

 _"Oh, and Julius. Take care of Alex for me." He disappears._

 _Julius slowly turns towards me, a smile making its way on his half red face._

 _He starts walking my way, his smile only growing. But suddenly the most horrendous thing I've ever heard happens, Julius stopping in his tracks._

 _Another ear splitting explosion shakes the room, much closer then the last. Immediately followed closely by another, and another, until you can't hear anything but the loud explosions melded by many other sounds. Complete chaos._

 _Glass breaking, walls falling, ground shaking...and the worst._

 _People screaming out in terror._

 _The room I'm in is located underground a huge old abandoned laboratory, one of Scorpia's last remaining facilities._

 _Which is now about to be a hole in the ground._

 _I hear cracks high above my head from the ceiling breaking, the stone pillars in the room wobbling, dust falling everywhere, everything shaking._

 _My arms get jerked painfully around with each pulse of movement, the walls crumbling right before my eyes._

 _Julius is on the ground, attempting to crawl towards me. And in his hand; is a double edged dagger._

 _I awkwardly start pulling on my chains with what little strength I have left. Hoping that maybe, just maybe the boards the chains are attached to have loosened from all the explosions._

 _I give one last hard tug on the chains. Only they don't budge._

 _Julius suddenly lunges at me from five feet away, and I frantically kick out at him._

 _My foot connects with his stomach, knocking him down again. But not before I feel the cold slice of steel slice across my shin as his arm jabs out at me. The dagger leaving a single stinging bloody line._

 _I cry out, barely able to hear it from all the racket._

 _Julius gets unsteadily to his feet, a hand over his stomach._

 _My breathing comes out in dry heaves, the air too full of dust particles for any clean oxygen to circulate._

 _Just as Julius is about to jab out to stab me in the heart, the loudest of all the explosions so far, rings out._

 _I often wonder how I didn't black out._

 _I wish I had._

 _There's a deafening BANG right above our heads. So loud my ears give a huge painful POP, then a searing hot flash fills the room._

 _Then the ceiling falls down with a mighty CRASH._

 _Dust floats around like a layer of snow, making it seem like there's been a sandstorm._

 _I look around through the haze, everything quiet now...Too quiet._

 _I'm laying on the dust incrusted floor, piles of stone from the ceiling and the walls surrounding me all around._

 _With a trembling hand, I reach up to touch my right ear. Bringing my hand back to my face, I see there's blotches of blood on it._

 _A headache pounds away in the back of my skull._

 _I look up to examine how I'm not squished from the ceiling literally collapsing down on me, only to see that one of the stone pillars in the room had broken in half during the explosion, one falling on each side of me._

 _Protecting me like a teepee._

 _The dust finally clears enough for me to see, and I find Julius wasn't as lucky as me._

 _He's about three feet away from me, only his head and one twisted arm sticking out from a pile of rubble._

 _Is he...dead?_

 _His bloodshot eyes suddenly snap open._

 _He stares over at me for a full minute, neither of us moving._

 _Not that he could of if he'd wanted to._

 _Then his throat moves rapidly, his mouth opening as he tries to formulate words._

 _He still doesn't speak, only able to create raspy whispers. But I read his lips loud and clear._

 _"Alex...you...might...get...out...but...you'll...never...truly...be...gone."_

 _He gives me one last evil crooked smirk before coughing up blood, then he lays still._

 _My hands continue to tremble, an uncomfortable warmth enveloping me, my mind on overload as I try to process everything that's happened._

 _Is it finally over?_

 _Am I finally free of this nightmare?_

 _Trying to calm myself down, I attempt to sit up._

 _A scream tears through my throat as a white-hot flash of pain shoots from inside my stomach._

 _Silent to me, but if anyone was around I'm sure they would've heard it echoing down the many crumbled halls._

 _Gasping for breath, I look down at my stomach. And there sticking out of the side of my stomach with blood spilling out everywhere..._

 _Is the knife Julius was holding._

 _I feel a stinging in the back of my throat, and I retch. Pulses of pain now continuously emit from my stomach, a dizziness invading my head._

 _Not having anything to throw up, I wrap my arms around my inflamed stomach, curling myself into a ball. The dizziness turning to a lightheadedness._

 _The pain is horrendous, only diminishing when an odd numbness begins to surround it._

 _It's getting harder to breath, black spots dotting my eyesight._

 _When I can't move anymore, and when I'm only seconds away from passing out. I see movement over by the crumbled door._

 _There's a sudden horrible popping noise in my ears that makes me want to cry out, pressure squeezing my brain._

 _I can't see anymore, and right before I'm fully unconscious, I surprisingly think I hear something that lifts my heart for the first time in a month._

 _"Cub!"_

* * *

I fling myself up into a sitting position so fast you would think you'd get whiplash.

One thought runs through me as I sit up in my bed.

I'm scared out of my mind.

I'm breathing really hard, my whole body trembling. I pull my legs up to my chest and start rocking, hot tears rolling down my face.

I can _still_ hear all the loud explosions of the bombes, the screams. I reach with trembling hands up to my ears, pressing on them as hard as I can.

It's not helping.

I can still hear them.

I start sobbing as I desperately try plugging my ears, my mind turning frantic and scrambled.

I can't take it anymore.

I have to get out!

Falling out of my bed to the hardwood floor, I crawl to the door. Grabbing the handle while standing up, I open it, running down the stairs.

When I reach the door that leads to the backyard, I frantically try unlocking it with trembling hands.

Once it's open, I run outside, down the few deck steps and out into the yard. My eyes latching onto the giant oak tree with the tire-swing.

Running over to it, I sit down beside the trunk. My still trembling arms automatically wrapping around my legs as I pull them up to my chest.

I sit there, only to suddenly realize I'm full out crying, hyperventilating, and every part of me is trembling.

But the noises are leaving, the tension washing away.

I look down at the watch on my wrist I wear all the time.

5:17 A.M.

Slowly, I feel myself start to relax as I watch the sunrise I have a perfect view of.

While I'm sitting with my legs up to my chest, and my head buried in between my knees. I hear the unmistakable sound of a screen door opening.

Someone's walking towards me.

I tense up.

The person stops about four feet away.

"So your an early person are ya, Alex?" The familiar voice questions.

I don't answer Don. Only tensing up more as I try to make myself look smaller.

"Lovely sunrise, mind if I join you?" He suddenly asks after a minute.

Why's he being so nice? Why isn't he asking any questions? I'm sure they heard all the ruckus I made earlier.

Maybe he's just being nice?

Deciding I wouldn't really mind some company, I shake my head no.

He sits down a couple feet to the right of me, spreading out his legs as he lets a satisfied sigh out. Then we just sit there in silence.

After about an hour when my tears are all dried up, and the shaking is down to just a slight tremble in my hands. Don stands, stretching out his limbs.

"What do you say we go get some breakfast? I'm famished."

I look up from the same position I've been sitting in for over an hour, seeing he's offering his hand down to me.

I feel something stir in my chest.

Ignoring it, I grab his hand and hoist myself up.

Together we walk back inside.

* * *

 **A/N**

Whew, heavy chapter there. Again! I apologize for the bad writing! Please ignore it. Also! If you hadn't already figured it out, Alex's nightmares he has are recaps of what happened to him during the time he was captured by Razim.

 _ **REVIEW!**_ Tell me your thoughts! Do you think living with the Browns' is going to work out?


	5. Chapter 4

_{Recap of last chapter.}_

 _*_ **I do not own Alex Rider***

 _ **Don's (POV)**_

I'm having a nice dreamless sleep, when something awakens me.

Groaning lightly, I open my eyes, staring up at the white ceiling as I listen for what woke me from my blissful slumber.

Nothing.

I hate being a light sleeper. One time I even woke up because there was a moth stuck in the window.

Let's just say it wasn't a good night for me.

I sit up in bed, glancing over at Lucy in hopes that she was the one who woke me.

Then I'd at least have someone I could blame besides a moth.

Only to see she's still sound asleep. Snores and all.

So she didn't wake me.

Looking over at the digital clock, I see it's 5:10 A.M.

Great. Just great.

I prepare to lay myself back down, when I hear a sudden thump from outside the room.

Standing up, I quietly walk over towards the bedroom door, my hand grabbing the knob. I open the door, immediately pausing when I hear the door from across ours loudly open.

Alex's bedroom door.

Peeking around the door, I see him stumble out of his room, his hands over his ears as he frantically runs down the stairs.

Alarmed, I walk over to the stairs, looking down. I hear the jingle of a door handle, then a door opens, shutting with a slam.

I walk back over to our bed, gently waking Lucy up.

"What's wrong?" She groggily asks, blinking rapidly as she looks around.

"Alex." The only thing I need to say.

Her face instantly changes from sleepy, to worried. Immediately she starts getting up, but I place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"I'll take care of him." I reassure her, patting her shoulder.

She looks like she's about to protest, but I interrupt her.

"Have some breakfast ready."

With that, I start walking out the door. Suddenly thinking of something, I look back at her.

"I'll be outside."

She gives me a questioning look, but doesn't ask as she continues to put her robe on.

Walking down the stairs, I head towards the back door. Opening the wood door, I leave the outer screen door shut as I stand there.

Staring out in the faint morning light, I see a shadowy figure sitting down beside the big oak tree.

Opening the screen door, I make a quick note in my head to oil the hinges.

As I start heading down the small hill towards Alex, I see he's sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around them, head tucked in-between his knees.

His shoulders noticeably tense as I approach.

I stop a couple feet away from him. "So your an early person are ya, Alex?" I lightly joke, hoping it might help ease the tension that's floating in the air.

It doesn't.

He shrinks up even more than he already was, his head staying tucked down.

He probably doesn't like me, I should've let Lucy come and check on him.

She would know what to do.

I'm probably the worst person you could send to do this kind of job.

It's not that I'm a bad person, I'm really not. But I've been told that I generally come off as a tough-uncaring man.

I can't help it.

It's just...me.

Deciding I can't just leave him to go fetch Lucy without feeling completely horrible about it. I look out over the fields, my eyes landing on the striking sunrise.

"Lovely sunrise, mind if I join you?" I try again.

At first I think he's just going to ignore me again, but as I prepare to turn around to go back inside, I see him give a small shake of his head no.

Surprised, I walk next to him, taking a seat. Stretching out my legs, I watch the sunrise.

I guess this makes up for the hour of sleep I'm going to miss.

After a couple minutes. I look back over at Alex, only to just _now_ notice his arms are slightly trembling, small silent sniffles coming from his hidden face.

My eyes move back down to his slightly exposed wrist as they catch something that makes them involuntary widen.

Just barely peeking out from his shirt sleeve where its lifted up from his current position, is a discoloration about an inch wide that looks like it wraps around his whole wrist.

Like some type of scar.

I don't even want to think this, but it looks like some sort of mark a handcuff would make.

Okay, so I did originally think Alex might be some stuck up brat that was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

But since meeting him yesterday, I'm beginning to think he's the complete opposite.

I come out of my deep thoughts as my stomach gives an unsatisfied grumble, the sun telling me it must be around six o'clock now.

My breakfast time.

I stand up, stretching my limbs out. My bones creaking and popping.

I sigh.

I'm getting too old for this.

Looking back down at Alex, I notice he hasn't moved at all since I've been out here. Still tucked up in a ball. Hiding.

I lean down, stretching my hand out towards him.

"What do you say we go get some breakfast? I'm famished." I ask, letting a small smile cross my lips.

Slowly, Alex raises his head. Eyes focusing on my outstretched hand.

Then he lifts his still slightly trembling hand to mine, grabbing it.

After I pull him up into a standing position, we both walk back towards the house in silence.

We step inside, a thought hitting me.

"Alex, why don't you head up to shower and change. Then come back down for breakfast." I suggest.

He keeps his head down, only giving me a slight nod before he walks past me and disappears.

I walk into the kitchen, immediately to be met with the sight of Lucy bustling around the stove.

One of my favorite things to see.

She turns to me as she notices my presence.

"What happened?" She quickly asks, eyes dark with worry.

I shrug. "Not really sure, he didn't say anything."

She gives me a displeased face before looking back towards the doorway that leads to the stairway.

"Maybe I should go check on him?" She continues to watch the doorway, brows furrowed.

"No, leave him be right now. He'll be down in a bit for breakfast." I reassure her, taking a grape from one of her many bowls.

Reluctantly she turns back to the stove, smacking my hand with her spatula as I reach for another grape.

I hiss, quickly retracting my hand. "Crazy spatula wielding women." I mumble, shaking my smarting hand out.

She raises a brow at me, a half smile on her face as she shoos me out of the kitchen.

I shake my head, walking back up the stairs. I pass Alex's room, going inside our room to change into my work clothes.

In no more than five minutes I finish changing, my destination; the kitchen. As I walk back in, I see Alex is already sitting at the table, Lucy serving him with one of her trademark smiles.

I take my seat at the head of the table, Lucy dishing out some eggs and bacon onto my plate. I dig into my food, glancing over at Alex.

He's slouching, head hanging, halfheartedly holding his fork as he picks at his food.

Lucy sits herself down, picking up her own fork as she begins to eat. An awkward silence fills the quiet room, and like usual, Lucy breaks it.

"So Alex, I was thinking we could go to town later, if your up to it?" She questions, and I can't help but catch the hint of hopefulness in her voice.

She looks over at Alex waiting for a reply, her fork lowering. And just when I think he's not going to answer her, I'm once again surprised.

"Sure." He quietly says, head still bowed down.

I look over at Lucy, immediately receiving a big smile from her. Feeling it catch, I look back down at my food.

Maybe, just maybe, we can get through to him that we just want to help.

* * *

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

It's about four hours after breakfast now, and I'm just laying on my bed, not having the resolve to do anything at the moment.

After the nightmare last night, I've just been feeling numb. No energy, and I didn't really eat anything for breakfast. Wasn't hungry.

Lucy and I are supposed to leave for town at 10:30 A.M. Apparently Lucy wants to go shopping so she can get me some new clothes, and I have to go with her. Which I personally don't think I need anymore. My three outfits are enough.

But she insisted. Especially after she found out I only own three pairs of clothes.

I look down at my watch.

10:20 A.M.

Almost time to go.

Sighing, I get up off the bed. As I prepare to exit the room, I glance over at the mirror that hangs above the dresser.

I'm wearing a navy blue hoodie with dark jeans, and my one pair of black sneakers.

Simple, the way I prefer.

Opening the door, I walk out and head down the stairs, entering the living room.

I take a seat on one of the sofas, waiting for Lucy.

Don wasn't available to go with us today, said he had farming business to attend to.

Although I have a feeling from the way he was avoiding Lucy's gaze that he just _really_ didn't want to go on a shopping expedition with her.

Oh joy.

I hear footsteps on the staircase, then Lucy appears dressed in a nice red summer dress, a purse around her shoulder. She doesn't seem to notice me as she steps into her shoes, simultaneously using her hands to braid her long hair.

She finishes with her hair, eyes straying over towards the sofa I'm sitting on.

Surprise flickers in her eyes as they land on me, obviously not expecting me to be waiting on her.

She simply smiles, the surprise being replaced with happiness as she walks over to where I'm sitting.

"Alrighty Alex, you ready to go?" She excitedly asks, eyes alighting like a child's on Christmas Eve.

As an answer, I get up, following her to the front door. Walking outside, we head over towards a dark blue SUV.

After we're situated, she pulls out, heading down their long driveway.

When we're finally on the main highway, I yawn as a sudden drowsiness hangs over my eyes, making them feel ten times heavier.

I know I've been laying on my bed since six something this morning, plenty of time to take a nap. But I didn't _actually_ fall asleep. No, I couldn't do that, the dream was still too fresh in my mind.

I watch the same old scenery blur by, the soothing sound of the car engine vibrating around me as I lay my head against the cool glass window. And before I know it, I'm dozing off.

 _A blinding flash of light._

I jerk awake with a small gasp, my breathing heavy, hands shaking.

What was that?

I look to my left, Lucy's concerned face immediately meeting mine.

"Alex."

"You alright?" She hesitantly asks, her face alternating between me and the road.

I continue to quickly scan over the vehicle, tucking my shaky hands underneath my thighs. After I've reassured my brain that there's in fact _nothing_ to worry about, I stop my searching eyes, blowing a breath out as I relax.

Looking back over at Lucy, I see she's still waiting for an answer.

"Y-yeah, sorry." I shakily whisper out.

I wince as a car goes by, the bright sunlight bouncing off its windshield and reflecting right back at us. More like right in my eyes.

That must've been the light that woke me up in the first place.

Maybe...?

I do a double take as I notice we're not in the middle of nowhere now.

We've arrived in town.

Lazy River Town to be exact.

As we're driving through the streets, I spot shops, a bowling alley, a skating rink, an arcade, apartments, houses, and a sheriffs department. And peeking in-between two buildings, is a large flowing River. Which must be what the towns named after.

A couple minutes later, we stop in front of a large building that has multiple shop signs spread out around the outside.

The Mall.

After Lucy finds a parking spot, she parks. We both exit the vehicle, Lucy taking the lead as she heads towards the entrance.

As soon as we step inside the cool air conditioned building, I notice there's crowds of people bustling around, shopping bags looped over their arms.

I swallow, my throat going dry.

You know, there's a lot of people in this mall considering it's a small town.

Must be all the tourist. Apparently, as Mrs. Jones pointed out on our way here yesterday, this town is a hot spot for them.

I walk closer to Lucy who's expertly maneuvering herself through the throng of people, my eyes unconsciously scanning the crowds every few seconds.

I stuff my hands into the pocket of my hoodie, keeping my head low as I continue to follow behind Lucy.

She stops in front of a store. "Come on Alex, lets try in here!" Lucy says, a cheerful smile on her face.

Going inside, she immediately asks me what my preferences are.

Simple.

No shorts, and _nothing_ but long sleeve shirts.

Although I word it in a nicer way.

About two hours later when it's basically one o'clock, and I'm literally all shopped out, Lucy finally finishes. Bags on both our arms.

Walking out of the shop, Lucy starts leading me somewhere else. The crowds not much thinner than when we got here.

Sighing, I reluctantly follow.

"Lets try some lunch here, I've never tried it." Lucy says, brows pinched together as she thinks hard. "What do you say, Alex?" She looks over at me.

Looking up, I read the sign that hangs above the entrance.

 **Sander's Dinner**

"Okay." I simply reply with.

Which is apparently all Lucy needs for encouragement.

She leads us into the slightly busy restaurant, looking through a catalog while she waits for a waiter to seat us.

Finally after waiting fifteen minutes, a waiter takes us back to be seated.

"Hello! My name is Jana and I'll be your server today! What would y'all like to drink?" The bubbly waiter asks as we sit down, the gum in her mouth being rapidly chewed.

"Hi, Jana. I'll just have some water please." Lucy says, looking down at the menu.

Jana looks over at me, waiting for an answer.

"W-water." I pathetically stumble out, tucking my head down.

"Okay, darling! I'll be right back." She scribbles something down on her notepad, hurrying away.

When she's gone, I tuck myself further down in my hoodie, only glancing at the menu. I hear Lucy flip through her menu, mumbling to herself.

"Ah, Alex. How do you like Pizza?" She looks questionably over at me.

"I like it." I tell her.

Well I used to, but I haven't had any since...before.

"How about we just get a medium pizza to share. What do you want on it?" She looks back down at the menu.

"Just cheese."

She nods her head with a smile. "Ah, your a cheese person. So am I." She gives me a wide smile.

The over bubbly waiter comes back, carrying our drinks.

She sets them out in front of us. "Now what would y'all like to eat?" She pops the gum in her mouth, hands posed to write on her notepad.

"We would like a cheese-"

Lucy's voice seems to fade away, my attention on something else completely.

In a trance I stare down at my tall dark glass that's filled to the top with ice water, my head suddenly growing woozy.

 _It's Dark. Pitch Black. Can't breath, bubbles escape my mouth. All oxygen leaving. Can't surface...Can't breath._

Snapping out of it, I jerk up like someone just shocked me. "C-can I have a d-different glass p-please?" I frantically stutter out, quickly hiding my now trembling hands underneath the table.

Startled, both Lucy and Jana look over at me. Surprise on both their faces.

I feel my cheeks heat up.

Stuffing my hands back in my pocket, I look down at my lap in embarrassment.

"Sure thing sweetie, be right back." Jana says.

I look up in time to see her throw me a curious glance as she walks away.

I can see Lucy wants to ask, and I honestly can't blame her.

"Alex, what was wrong with that glass?" She slowly questions, almost like she's afraid I'll run away.

Slouching, I lean back, keeping my face down. "Nothing." I mumble out, playing innocent.

Looking up, I see her give me a disbelieving glance.

Jana comes back a few minutes later, and I immediately notice she's trying to act like her usual bubbly self. But she doesn't fool me.

She sets a clear, smaller sized glass down in front of me. Reclaiming the other one.

I let out a relieved breath.

She comes back in ten minutes with our pizza, setting it down in front of us.

"I'll be back to see if you need anything else, enjoy!"

With that, she walks off at a fast pace, throwing glances at us over her shoulder.

Lucy's staring at Jana's retreating back, her face set in a almost resentful expression.

She instantly replaces is with a smile, putting a slice of pizza on her plate.

I reach out and grab one, surprisingly finding that I'm starving.

It taste delicious for once, and soon enough there's only a couple slices left.

And let me just say, Lucy has a huge appetite.

I only had two slices, and now there's only two left.

You do the math.

After we're done, Lucy pays and we head out of the restaurant.

As we're walking away, I feel the stare of Jana burning my back until we're lost in the crowd of busy shoppers.

* * *

 **A/N**

I hope this wasn't too crappy for you? Blame the younger me. ^_^ Anyway, **Review!** If you feel like it. **Also!** Let me clear something up.

This book is set a couple months _after_ Scorpia rising, and the ending is also different! I wrote this before 'Never say Die' was even thought about. So nothing in my book is based off of that one. I changed the ending of Scorpia Rising because heck, this is a FanFic and I can write whatever I want. _(No matter how mean that may sound XD.)_ Alex's nightmares in this book basically tell you how I 'rewrote' the ending of Scorpia Rising. Razim and Julius didn't die like how they did in Scorpia Rising. It's different.

So yeah...*Shuffles awkwardly* That's all I've got right now.

 ***Side note***

I try to update a chapter every day. Though you may get another one today.


	6. Chapter 5

**_*I do not own Alex Rider*_**

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

We'd gotten back from town around 3:30 P.M. And as soon as we'd pulled into the parking spot in front of the house, Lucy had immediately announced that she wanted to make apple pie.

So that's how I find myself _outside_ at Lucy's apple trees.

After Lucy and I have a decent sized bag full of large red apples, she leads us back inside the house. Then she sits me down at the counter, handing me a small knife as she begins to peel a apple.

I look down at the knife in my hand, a sick feeling washing throughout me at just the sight. I take a deep breath, trying to loosen the unexplained tension that's building inside me.

Knowing Lucy's watching me, I hesitantly bring the knife up to the apple I'm holding, carefully peeling it.

Lucy begins to talk about completely random things, almost as if she knew I needed something to help me keep my mind off things. And sure enough, I soon find myself blocking off any unwanted thoughts as I listen to her. The tension fading away.

Once I finish peeling my last apple, I accidentally drop the knife with a resounding CLANG onto the countertop.

Lucy's stopped talking, staring over at me while I wipe my hands relentlessly on a paper towel.

It's just a kitchen knife Alex. Nothing more.

I force myself to stop wiping my now shaking hands, immediately tucking them in my pockets. Looking down, I ignore Lucy's stare.

So much for the unwanted thoughts leaving.

Lucy gets up as she finishes the last apple, cleaning our sticky mess up we made from peeling before she brings more cooking utensils over.

"Here Alex, would you mix the ingredients together?" She asks, setting a bowl down in front of me.

I look up on the countertop, finding a cookbook open to a page about apple pie. Trying my best, I measure out the correct ingredients as Lucy hands them to me, placing them down inside the bowl.

When I finish with the last ingredient, I place my hands back down on my lap, my eyes going up to meet Lucy's.

"Great job!" She exclaims, a large smile on her face. "I'll make a cook out of you yet." She laughs, wiping her floury hands on her apron.

Next I help her knead the dough, placing it into a pie shaped pan when we finish. Then she pours the apple chunks into it, laying strips of dough on top.

As I watch Lucy place it inside the oven, an odd feeling I haven't felt in a long while washes over me.

I actually feel like I _did_ something.

Which I guess I did.

Lucy turns back around after placing the pie in the oven, facing me.

"Why don't you go hang out in the living room for awhile? I'll call you for supper at five-thirty." She suggests.

I nod, sliding off the stool I'd been sitting on.

I exit the kitchen, walking into the living room. Sitting down, I find myself thinking about the Browns.

Lucy is nice, her childlike excitement only adding to her gentle charm. I've also found that I'm not nearly as nervous around her as I usually am with new people, her soft voice easily distracting me from those unwanted thoughts.

I can usually read people better then most, one of the perks of being me. But Don I'll have to say has been pretty tough.

One moment he's the big intimidating scowling person who has the aura of a grumpy lion, then he's suddenly the soft spoken caring person who silently sits with you after you've had a bad night.

But after this morning, I can tell he doesn't try to be intimidating on purpose. It's just his nature.

I feel a small smile tug on my lips, a rare thing for me nowadays.

The front door suddenly opens, shutting with a soft bang.

I tense up.

I fling my eyes over towards the door, instantly relaxing as I spot Don.

He's taking off his shoes, his hair and shirt noticeably damp with sweat from working outside. He finishes, glancing over at me as he stands straight up.

His face scrunches with curiosity. "What are you doing?" He glances up at the TV. "Watching a blank screen?" He lightly jokes.

He walks over to the TV, grabbing what looks like the remote, and hands it over to me.

He takes a few steps, then looks back at me, a smirk on his lips.

"So how was shopping?"

I give a small groan, leaning back against the backrest.

He must know how much Lucy likes shopping, how she has to look at _every_ item before she's satisfied.

My feet still hurt.

"That's what I thought." Chuckling, he disappears into the kitchen.

Two hours later I find myself still sitting on the sofa, in a daze as I watch the shapes fly by on the screen. My stomach complaining.

And sadly it's not because I'm hungry.

I hear Lucy's voice call me for supper, just like how she said.

I get up with a barely concealed groan, wrapping my right arm around my stomach as I walk into the kitchen.

I take a seat at the table, the Browns doing another quick prayer. Then Lucy dishes out Pork and Beans.

I'm in the middle of _pretending_ to eat when Lucy looks over at me.

July "Alex, the fourth of July is in two days and I just wanted to tell you our plans." She says.

I give her a slight nod.

"So we're supposed to meet up with my sisters family at the fair grounds." She starts. "Then we'll picnic, wait around till dark when the fireworks start, and leave after that." She studies my face. "Sound alright?"

I look down at my plate, chest tightening with anxiety.

Fireworks.

Those are loud, and I mean _really_ loud. I don't think I can handle that.

What am I talking about? I _know_ I can't handle that.

But I don't want to ruin it for the Browns, Lucy sounds so excited, a sparkle in her eyes.

I'll just have to ask if I can sit in the car or something.

Yeah, it'll be fine...

I nod my head yes, going back to picking at my food like I'm some selfish brat who didn't get their way.

Now don't get me wrong, I honestly love Lucy's cooking so far. It's just my stomach hurts sometimes...well, most of the time nowadays. Which then makes me _not_ feel like eating.

After I finish pretending that I'm eating, I take my meds, asking to be excused.

Lucy looks down at my plate, giving me an uncertain look.

"Alright, if your done?" She hesitates.

"Yes, thank you." I mumble out as I stand up.

"Oh, and Alex! We're having a movie night in a hour, so if your up to it then come down and join us." She finishes with a smile, a hopeful spark in her eyes.

I walk out of the kitchen, up the stairs to _my_ room. Gathering my PJ's I head to the bathroom.

Once I'm in the bathroom I strip off my clothes, turning the shower on _all_ the way hot. Quickly jumping in, I soap up in a record breaking time of thirty seconds.

I get out, wrapping a towel around me, trembles shaking my whole body as I just stand there.

Don't think about it.

Don't think about it.

I continue to chant as I finally get dressed, the air seeming to almost grow thicker.

All the-while making sure to ignore the large mirror that hangs on the wall.

Finally, when I'm completely dressed and I've mostly stopped trembling, I head out of the bathroom.

Going in my room, I throw the dirty clothes into my hamper. laying down on the bed, I curl up, holding my still aching stomach.

Should I bother going down?

Do I really want to get close to these people?

People that could easily be ripped away from me, like everyone else I knew and loved.

Then it hits me.

That feeling I felt when Don helped me this morning.

I _want_ to be cared for again. To have a family I can depend on and share things with.

I'm going to try.

It might take awhile, and I'm about as messed up as they get.

But I'm going to try.

With that last thought, I get up. Still holding an arm around my stomach, I head out and down the stairs.

Lucy's sitting on one of the sofas, a big bowl of popcorn in her lap. Don's putting a movie in, a smile on his face as he laughs at something Lucy must've said.

They both look over at me as I come in.

And without a word, Lucy scoots over, patting the sofa beside her.

I walk over with my hands in my pocket, head hung down.

I sit down, drawing my knees up to my chest to help ease the pain in my stomach.

I watch as Don comes over, sitting down on the other side of Lucy.

Together we watch the Avengers movie. Lucy passing the popcorn around until it's empty.

Hearing them laugh at the funny parts, I can't help but let a small, genuine smile tug on my lips.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **REVIEW!** I enjoy seeing what my readers are thinking. ^_^ Ah, yes, and their 4th of July picnic...Does that go as planned?

P.S. _Please remember this isn't edited._


	7. Chapter 6

_***I do not own Alex Rider* Warning: Torture scene ahead!**_

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

 _I'm strapped down on a cold metal table, in that horrid room again._ _Unable to move with my wrists, elbows, and ankles secured tightly with straps that are attached to the table._

 _I can see Rat and Stick over in the dark corner._

 _Watching. Waiting._

 _Razim walks into the room, a sinister smile on his waxy face._

 _I quickly avoid eye contact, my limbs shaking, sweat going everywhere. My body automatically tensing up in preparation of what's to come._

 _I look down across my bruised and battered bare chest, my only clothing being what's left of my torn combat pants._

 _"Alex! You ready for some fun?" His voice pierces my ears like nails down a chalkboard._

 _Razim walks around behind my head, sticking those sensors onto my forehead. Already knowing I'm not going to answer him._

 _No. No. No._

 _Not more of this, please NO._

 _I start thrashing, trying to kick, trying to punch anything. But to no avail, the straps aren't budging._

 _"Alex, Alex." He chides softly next to my ear. "After two weeks you would think you'd have it in your thick head, that you can't escape THIS!"_

 _Razim yells that last part in my ear, and I can't help but flinch away, silent tears beginning to fall down my cheeks._

 _Razim begins to laugh down at me, Stick and Rat joining in._

 _Now the whole room is alive with sinister laughs. Taunting me, humiliating me._

 _Finally after what feels like hours, they stop. Razim slowly walks over to a little side table, grabbing a few narrow foot-long-knives. Then he lays them neatly alongside my body, his face peaceful like he's simply decorating a flower basket._

 _If only._

 _My breathing comes out in giant gasps of air, yet I still feel like I can't breath. My hair plastered onto my forehead and neck with sweat._

 _Razim grabs a knife, playing with it in his hands, that smile returning._

 _"You think your so great."_

 _He stabs down with lightning fast speed-_

 _-stabbing the table right next to my head._

 _I jerk away with a gasp, heart thumping dangerously fast._

 _More laughter as Razim grabs another knife. "But you're just a boy." He stabs down again, just a hairs breath away from cutting my naked skin._

 _On, and on he goes. Stabbing the table up and down my body, throwing insults along with each one._

 _I flinch at each one, tense at each move, expecting it to come down any minute to pierce my skin._

 _"A Boy That Can't Stay Out Of Everyone's Damn BUSINESS!" Razim screams with so much fury there's spit flying out of his mouth, eyes wide with a sickening spark of excitement._

 _And with that last sentence, he brings the knife down-_

 _-Right onto my right thigh._

 _I scream out in pain as I feel cold metal slice through skin, tendons, and muscle. As if I was nothing more than a stick of butter. It chips at bone before finally coming out the other side, impaling the table so hard it sticks to it like a thumbtack._

 _My wide eyes stare up at the ceiling as pain beyond what I can comprehend burns deep inside me, gurgle-like-gasps coming out of my mouth as I momentarily forget how to breath properly. Back arching off the table._

 _Razim grabs another knife, quickly stabbing my other thigh. Still yelling insults to my deaf ears._

 _Pain. Pain. It's the only thing I understand right now, my foggy brain only making it worse. My screams painfully contained on the inside as my energy completely disappears._

 _Finally, after Razim's done a couple more. He stops._

 _Pulling one out._

 _I jerk my upper body as I feel the steel leave my skin, whimpers mixing with my gasps for air, my sweat drenched face contracting in fresh agony._

 _Slowly this time, he wiggles one out. Twisting and turning it with each small millimeter, agonizingly slow._

 _"How's that feel ALEX!"_

 _I jerk my head back against the table, giving a feeble cry as he gives it an extra sharp tug._

 _"S-stop." I gasp out in between breaths, my throat raw and scratchy from screaming so much._

 _I can't take the pain anymore!_

 _Razim suddenly stops his progress with the third knife, looking over at me with a smirk. He faces his henchmen._

 _"Hear that fellas? The great Alex Rider wants me to stop." He teases._

 _He looks back at me, placing a bloody right hand up to his chin. "I don't know Alex, I rather like seeing you beg." He spits out._

 _He immediately goes back to working on the third knife. Twisting and jerking._

 _"P-please...S-stop." I feel blood dribble down my chin, my tongue and lips having been bitten several times._

 _Razim looks me in the eye._

 _"Never."_

* * *

"Stop!" I shout while simultaneously jerking up into a sitting position.

I feel bile rise in the back of my throat as I repeatedly recall that nightmare, all the pain and fear I experienced washing over me once again.

Quickly, I get out of bed, practically running out of my room towards the bathroom.

Locking the door, I manage to make it over to the toilet before I ever so gracefully throw up what little I had in my stomach.

I finish, curling myself into a ball in-between the toilet and the bathtub, my whole body trembling.

There's a fog in my head, eyes heavy, brain mentally exhausted.

Where am I?

Letting a whimper out, I try blocking all the painful memories that are trying to resurface.

I desperately rock back and forth as I attempt to control my gasping breaths, the tears, the shaking.

A sudden knock on the door startles me.

"Alex?" A woman's voice.

Who is it?

My mind goes blank, only the bad memories swirling around in my head. Taking over.

"Alex open up." It continues.

Why? So you can hurt me?

"NO!" I desperately yell much louder than I intended to.

Silence on the other side.

Can't breath!

My lungs feel like they can't expand, stuck in one position. So, so tight.

Panicking, my hyperventilating picks up even more, my chest feeling like there's a balloon being inflated deep inside.

I barely make out a voice on the other side of the door, my breathing and frantic mind almost completely concealing it.

"Your alright, Alex. Your here with Lucy and me." The deep voice assures. "Safe in our house"

Then like a blankets been lifted, the fog disappears from my brain. Clarity returning.

Lucy. Don...The Brown's.

We just watched a movie together last night.

Thinking of last night relaxes me a bit, and I manage to calm my breathing down to just small gasps. The assurance that I'm in fact _not_ back in that nightmare, comforting me more than you would think.

I sit there listening to Lucy and Don talk about whatever, slowly feeling the tension leave my body.

I'm exhausted.

I slowly get up after a few more minutes, holding onto the sink for support.

Check my facts.

Today is July 3rd and it's-

I look at down at my watch.

6:33 A.M.

With slightly trembling hands, I wipe the tear tracks off my face, letting a few sniffles out.

I feel my face grow warm as I recall the part where I yelled at them no more than seven minutes ago.

I take a few more deep breaths, fully aware that I'm still slightly gasping for air, my hands trembling like a leaf.

I open the door.

Lucy's sitting beside the bathroom door, her back against the wall. Don's sitting a couple feet away, on the first step of the stairs.

They immediately get up, facing me.

I keep my face angled down, arms crossed to help conceal my trembling hands.

I can feel them trying to figure out what to do now, evaluating me.

I wouldn't blame them if they called Mrs. Jones up and asked her to come pick me up.

I mean come on Alex, it's only your second day with them and you've already had a mega freak out, basically _right_ in front of them.

I'm sure that door isn't soundproof.

Finally they make a decision.

"Come on Alex, let's go get some breakfast." Lucy softly says, taking a step closer to me.

Now that I think about it, I actually am hungry. Which is kinda strange for me, especially after I just had a low key panic attack.

I nod my head yes, following Lucy down the stairs.

After I'm seated at the table, I just sit, staring down at my lap while I listen to Lucy bustle around at the oven.

Don comes in a few minutes later, joining me at the table.

Lucy brings eggs and bacon over, and we start eating. No one talks about earlier, but I can tell they're both thinking about it.

I finish nibbling on my piece of bacon, preparing to get up to go after I take my meds. But Lucy stops me.

"Alex, after you change, can you please come back down?" She questions.

"Okay." I mumble out, heading towards the stairway.

I'm honestly a little anxious about what Lucy wants, I can feel the sweat coming back, my mind overthinking everything.

What if she does want me to leave?

I get dressed, brushing my teeth while the dread only continues to grow. Once I finish, I head back down the stairs.

I find Lucy by the backdoor, bent down while she pulls her large rubber boots on.

She looks over at me as I walk closer, giving me a smile as she gestures towards another pair of boots.

"Try those on."

I step into them, finding they're only a tad too large. Lucy heads out the door, and I follow. Walking a little ways, we stop at a decent sized garden.

"You can help me with the garden today." She simply says.

So together we begin weeding, picking beetles of the plants, and gathering anything that's ready for harvest.

I guess you could say I enjoyed it.

The hard work, getting my mind busy, listening to Lucy jabber on about whatever.

Which I'm beginning to realize she does a lot.

And before I know it, Lucy's saying it's time to go in for Lunch.

While walking back to the house, I check the time.

1:02 P.M.

I guess time really does fly when your having fun.

After washing up, we head to the kitchen. Sitting at the table, I wait patiently as Lucy makes us both a sandwich.

When we're done eating, Lucy surprisingly brings some drawing things over to the table. And before I know it, we both begin to draw.

Now most people don't know this about me, but I like drawing.

While drawing and listening to Lucy joke around whenever she draws something funny, (Which is most of the time) I notice I'm _actually_ having fun.

It was weird, a good weird.

Something I haven't done in so long.

Having fun.

That's how Don found us later. Sitting around the table full of half drawn pictures, Tic-Tac-Toe games, and more.

With Lucy giggling to death and me trying, but failing to hide my smile.

* * *

 **A/N**

So, here I am again! Did anything stick out to you? Did any emotions surface as you were reading this chapter? If so, when?

*Side Note: Please remember this isn't edited!

Thanks for reading! **Review!**


	8. Chapter 7

_**Alex's (POV)**_

 _Darkness._

 _That's all there is. Complete and utter Darkness, slowly sucking you in like a black hole._

 _I'm laying on a cold hard floor._

 _slowly, I sit up._

 _Can't see anything, can't hear anything._

 _I can feel the panic start to build up in my throat, choking me, smothering me._

 _Where am I?_

 _I hesitantly feel around._

 _My hands suddenly bump against what feels like metal bars, and with further inspection I can tell they go around me in a small square._

 _I'm in a cage!_

 _That's when it hits me._

 _I remember, and it feels like someone dumped a bucket of ice cold water over my head._

 _"Jack." I croak out, my hands tightening around two of the bars. The coldness burning into my palms, burning like the fire deep inside me._

 _No, it can't be true. She can't be...dead._

 _I gulp loudly, my eyes stinging uncontrollably._

 _I've completed my search of the small area, finding only bars that block every direction. Defeated, I sit back in one of the corners, my knees drawn up to my chest as I try to retain some warmth, silent tears falling._

 _No more than ten minutes later, I hear a noise. Immediately I sit up, wiping any leftover tears away._

 _It sounds like a door being opened._

 _Then I hear the unmistakable sound of snarling dogs._

 _Scooting as far away as I possibly can from the snarling and now growling dogs, I have no option but to wait and see what they're going to do._

 _Soon enough, I find out._

 _I hear the sound of claws clicking against the ground as they get closer._

 _The whole room is suddenly filled with loud growls as they're let into the room, immediately beginning to circle the cell._

 _I quickly crawl to the middle of the cell, the sound of powerful jaws snapping shut directly where I was just sitting, echoing loudly in my ears._

 _Curled up on the floor with my eyes shut tight, I start hoping this nightmare will be over._

 _But they continue._

 _And now...now they've started jumping against the cell bars. Shaking the whole thing as if any minute it might fall apart and leave me at the mercy of these vicious dogs._

 _It just continues...the rattling, the shaking, the barking, the growling._

 _It doesn't STOP._

 _Snarling, barking, whining, jaws snapping, shaking..._

* * *

I sit up with a gasp.

My heart beats a mile a minute, sweat streaming down my forehead like a river, sheets plastered to my wet skin.

I reach up with a trembling hand to brush some hair away from my face, only to feel tear tracks underneath my eyes.

Sighing, I rub both hands over my face.

That was actually a pretty mild nightmare for me. Usually they're much- _much_ worse than that.

I check my watch.

6:03 A.M.

Wow, I even slept longer than normal, granted I don't usually fall asleep until somewhere around 12-1 at night.

Maybe this means it'll be a good day?

Cause if I'm being completely honest with myself, I'm horribly nervous about going out later for the Picnic/fireworks event.

Just the thought about it makes my heart speed up.

Letting a big breath out, I change my thoughts over towards the job of getting up.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, standing up with a small yawn.

I walk over towards my clothes drawer, opening it up.

Rummaging around, I suddenly stop as my eyes land on something I _don't_ remember packing.

With trembling hands, I pull my wooden bead necklace out of the pocket it was hanging out of.

How did this get in here?

I could've sworn I specifically did _not_ pack this.

But now that I think about it...

Mrs. Jones must've slipped it inside my bag when I wasn't around.

Making up my mind, I grab some clean, heading out to the bathroom. Inside I proceed with a quick shower, changing into my new pair of dark jeans and a blue plaid long-sleeve-shirt.

I hold the necklace up in front of my face, eyes completely fixated on it. Then I put it around my neck, tucking it safely underneath my shirt.

Going downstairs, I see Don is seated at the table, Lucy at the stove.

As I get closer, Lucy looks over at me, a smile lighting up her face.

"Good morning! I almost thought I was going to have to go get you up." She jokes, continuing to flip something over in her skillet.

I sit down in my normal seat, proceeding with eating once Lucy serves me.

Don pauses his eating long enough to discuss about later.

"So I figure we'll leave here at four so we can get a good spot." He says, dabbing his mouth with his napkin as he looks between me and Lucy.

Lucy nods her head. "Sounds good. I need to get to work on our picnic dinner." She thoughtfully adds.

She looks over at me. "Does that sound alright, Alex?"

I nod my head yes, downing all my morning pills in one swallow.

After breakfast, I sit around the kitchen as I watch Lucy gather things up to fix for later.

She's stacking things up on the table beside me when she seems to suddenly remember something.

"Oh Alex! I forgot to tell you earlier, but my sister has a son that's your age I believe."

Great.

Just great.

"When you start school in a couple months, he'll be in the same classes as you." She walks over to the fridge, opening it. "It'll be good to know someone there."

School.

That _one_ word fills me with dread.

And to think I used to wish more than anything else in the whole world was to just be a simple, everyday-ordinary schoolboy.

Life never goes as planned.

Lucy asks me to help place some meat in a couple ziplock bags.

"Oh, and we need to put your medicine in something to take with us."

She walks over to a drawer, taking two little sandwich bags out. Then she fills them each individually, putting them down on the counter.

And soon enough, it's time to eat a small lunch.

Slowly I eat my ham-sandwich, feeling my stomach twist with nervousness for later.

I finish about half my sandwich, quietly excusing myself before I take a walk out back.

I take a seat down beside the big oak tree, leaning my head against the trunk as my eyes grow heavy.

"Alex! It's time to get ready to go!"

My eyes snap open.

I immediately look around at my surroundings, heart thundering inside my chest.

Peaceful apple orchard, large tree, hills, all the smells of a farm.

I let a breath out.

Yawning, I rub my eyes.

I must have fallen asleep.

Which is strange for me.

I look down at my watch.

3:45 P.M.

No wonder Lucy called me, it's already late. I get up, heading inside up to the bathroom.

While I'm washing my hands, I glance up at the mirror.

My hair is all over my forehead, looking like I just rolled out of bed. Dark smudges mark underneath both my eyes, though they look a tad lighter than the last time I checked.

My eyes stop on my necklace that you can barely see poking out of the shirts collar.

I feel a stab of guilt.

Sighing, I turn to leave as I suddenly catch sight of the right side of my neck.

My scar seems _way_ to noticeable right now...but maybe that's just me.

Self consciously, I try tugging my shirt collar up more.

it doesn't help.

Frowning, I shrug.

Nothing I can do about it...

Besides everyone has scars.

Walking out, I head down the stairs, entering the kitchen. Lucy's standing around all the bags of food, a small notebook in her hand as she checks to make sure she has everything.

Don walks in, grabbing a cooler.

"Alex, make yourself useful and help an old man out." Don says, a playful smirk on his lips.

Lucy walks by him, giving his arm a light smack.

"You are in _no_ way an old man, Don." She chides.

I grab a couple bags and head out to the SUV.

After we've carried everything out to the car, everyone takes their seats. I sit in the back, Don driving while Lucy sits passenger.

I keep my attention on all the scenery as we travel to town, attempting to ignore my thoughts.

As we enter town, Lucy looks back at me.

"So Alex, my nephews name is Mack." She gives me a smile. "Hopefully you two will get along."

Yeah, _hopefully_.

We drive through town, turning somewhere I haven't been yet.

My eyes widen as we come to a stop, Don parking. There, directly in front of us is a _big_ grassy clearing.

Filled to the brim with people.

Some are playing games, others are setting up their picnic spots. Smiles on _all_ their faces.

I can feel my heart speed up, sweat gathering.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Lucy and Don open their doors, a breath of wind blowing inside. Opening mine, I step out, cautiously looking around.

After I'm satisfied for the moment, I walk to the back of the vehicle, helping them by carrying a few items.

"Come on guys! I think I see a good spot." Lucy yells over at me and Don, an excited expression on her face.

Don grumbles something under his breath, walking on. Following, I find myself repeatedly scanning the crowds.

Scowling, I try focusing on something _besides_ all the people.

We reach the spot Lucy apparently likes, then she immediately begins to set up the fold-up table Don was carrying.

After a couple more loads, we finally have everything unloaded from the SUV.

Lucy has everything set up; two tables, three chairs, and the coolers stacked up beside the tables.

Don's working on setting up the mini grill they brought, and Lucy's sitting in one of the chairs looking down at her phone.

"They should be here by now." Lucy mumbles out.

I'm sitting in one of the other chairs, my eyes scanning the area once again.

Lucy had said before that this spot is a fairground.

And I believe her.

It's probably the size of ten soccer fields, and there's a perfect open sky view which is where I'm assuming they're doing the fireworks.

Fireworks.

I'll have to ask if I can sit in the car later, maybe that'll muffle the noise...hopefully.

Lucy suddenly stands up, shielding her eyes as she looks out over the crowds.

"I think I see them." She says, still keeping her eyes in one spot.

Don stands up from his seat, looking also.

And sure enough, I make out three people walking purposely towards us.

Lucy and her sister look a _lot_ alike, only her sister has brown hair.

Her husband, now he's the type of guy that can pull off being part fat and part muscle without looking just like...eh. Complete with black hair that's cut short, and a stern face.

Also with them must be Mack.

Right away I can tell he's going to be trouble.

He carries himself with an air of confidence, like he can do anything and get away with it without a problem. He's heavy set, but with more muscle than fat. Probably a couple inches shorter than me, short brown hair and brown eyes.

Lucy goes to meet them halfway. I just continue to sit and hide my trembling hands.

Don gives me a glance, but I quickly look away.

They finish walking up to our spot, and I slowly stand up, tucking my hands in my pockets.

Lucy starts introducing everyone.

"Alex, this is my sister Molly." She gestures towards the brown haired Lucy.

Molly gives me a polite smile.

"Her husband, Frank." The big guy.

He gives me a smile, offering me his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Alex." I reach out, shaking his outstretched hand, thankful that mine has stopped shaking.

"And this is, Mack."

He gives me a nod in acknowledgement, but doesn't smile.

After that, they set up their chairs, and Molly starts chatting with Lucy.

I look at my watch.

5:15 P.M.

I glance around at everyone.

Both Frank and Mack are on their phones, Lucy and Molly still talking up a storm, and Don has started grilling.

Molly suddenly looks over at me, her face curious. "Alex, when is your birthday?" She questions completely out of the blue.

Startled, it takes me a minute to gather my thoughts. And by the time I find my voice, I see I have everyone's attention.

"February, sixteenth." I say just loud enough for them to hear.

"Ah, Mack's is in December." Molly says. "Are you excited about starting School in North America?" She keeps her eyes on me.

I just shrug, keeping my eyes downcast.

"Not much of a talker." I hear Mack snidely mumble out, still looking down at his phone.

I feel my face turn red in embarrassment, and I look down at the grass covered grown.

"Mack, be nice." Frank scolds without looking up from his phone.

Like father like son I see.

I hear Mack grumble something under his breath. "When's it time to eat? I'm starved." He questions, looking up towards Don.

I'm sure he's doesn't even know _what_ starving is.

"Give me five minutes." Don says.

Everyone gets up as they begin to gather what they want to drink, setting them in their individual cup holders made into the chairs.

Don sets a plate of hamburgers and hotdogs on the table, proceeding with a quick blessing.

Everyone serves themselves, sitting back down. I just sit, waiting until it's just Lucy left by the food.

After I put a hamburger on my plate and grab a water bottle, I start walking back towards my chair.

While walking, I pass Mack's chair.

Just in time, I see him stick his foot out to try and trip me.

I easily dodge it, hearing him make a low growl in annoyance.

Sitting back in my chair that's beside Lucy and Don, I look over towards Mack, only to see he's glaring over at me.

I honestly don't know what I did to make him hate me.

So I ignore his hostile glare, beginning to eat.

After everyone's done, we clean up.

"Come on guys, lets play some frisbee!" Lucy says to everyone, heading out towards a empty spot.

Frank groans, throwing his head back. Don sighs, but stands up anyway. And just like Lucy, Molly looks just as excited.

"I'll get it!" Mack yells before sprinting away towards the parking lot.

When he gets back, we all spread out in a big circle and start passing the frisbee.

Even playing some monkey in the middle.

Mack even decided to use this opportunity to barrel into me while pretending to catch the frisbee, ending with knocking me flat on the ground.

But besides that, I was having fun.

And that's _always_ when the bad things happen.

* * *

 **A/N**

So I don't know if I got Alex's birthday right or not, but that's what I read off the internet. (I couldn't remember from reading the books.)

So, what do you think of this Mack character?


	9. Chapter 8

_**Alex's (POV)**_

I first hear a small bang, then it's immediately followed by a long whistling sound.

Everyone pauses what they're doing, looking up at the sky.

There's a huge resounding BOOM as the first firework of the night explodes into millions of tiny lights.

My heart stops.

Everyone's cheering now, glad the fireworks have finally started.

My breathing picks up, and I'm no longer aware of anything but the sky.

How'd it get so dark all of a sudden?

Guess it doesn't really matter now.

The frisbee drops from my stiff hands like a bag of bricks, and I start to slowly back up, my eyes transfixed on the dark sky.

My heart is beating a mile a minute, and I can feel sweat break out everywhere on my body.

Three more small bangs resound, whistles, then three big BOOMS. One right after another.

I hear a whimper.

A couple more bangs, whistles, and then they explode.

I involuntarily flinch at each one.

"Alex?"

I snap my gaze down from the sky, only to see Lucy looking over at me with a highly concerned face.

I don't answer her, my gaze frozen.

She walks closer to me. "Alex, what's wrong?" Her voice sounds muted in my ears, like someone's tied a bag around my head.

I'm about to try forming some sort of answer, when there's the biggest firework yet.

 **BOOM!**

I forget about everything as an overwhelming panic takes over.

Turning, I run.

Somewhere in my frantic mind I must have rationalized that the best place to escape was the Brown's car.

Because that's where I ended up.

I stop beside it, trying to catch my breath.

Only I can't.

There's a warm tingling in my chest, a tightness in my throat.

And I can _still_ hear all the fireworks!

I slide down against the side of the car, curling up as I bring my shaking hands up to my ears.

 _Giant explosions echo throughout the whole building. Walls falling, glass shattering._

 _People screaming out in terror._

 _Too loud, it's too...LOUD!_

Something touches me.

 _People screaming._

I lash out with my right arm, immediately feeling it connect with something hard.

That breaks me out of my whirlwind of a memory for a moment, and I open my eyes I hadn't even noticed I'd closed.

They land on Lucy who's sprawled out on the ground in front of me.

My eyes widen in disbelief.

Did I do _that_?

My breathing picks up even more, and I can feel myself trembling all over.

More loud explosions fill the air, and soon I can't concentrate on anything but my thoughts and the loud noises.

 _Not able to escape._

Subconsciously I feel strong hands gently grab my shoulders.

I flinch away, an unbidden whimper slipping out.

But I don't strike out again.

I feel myself being lifted, then my uncomfortable concrete seat is replaced with a soft cushion.

Peeling my eyes open, I see I'm back inside the car.

Lucy quietly slides in beside me, slowly wrapping her arms around me. I place my head on her shoulder, curling up once again.

 _Glass breaking, huge explosions, walls crumbling._

 _Crawling towards me with a knife, wild eyes._

I'm shaking uncontrollably, tears falling from my tightly shut eyes.

I feel the car start moving.

Soon the loud explosions from the fireworks fade away, and the comforting sound of the car engine fills my ears.

I feel exhausted, like all my life's been drained from inside me. And soon enough, I feel myself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **Lucy's (POV)**_

I had just thrown the frisbee to Alex when we heard the first firework.

Smiling, I look up at the sky where I know for certain they'll be at. It's a beautiful sparkly red one that looks like an umbrella, one of my favorites.

Everyone starts to cheer, and I join in.

I suddenly hear something lightly hit the ground behind me. Turning around, I see the Frisbee is laying discarded on the ground.

I look up at Alex who's standing above it, immediately knowing something's wrong.

He's slowly backing away, his eyes which are solely focused on the sky are wide and frantic.

Three more fireworks light up the sky, filling the air with their mighty BOOMS.

He whimpers.

My eyes widen, dread settling in my heart.

What's wrong? Why is he acting like this?

A couple more fireworks go off, and I see him flinch at _each_ one.

Finally, my tongue-tied-mouth manages to say something.

"Alex?" I question.

His gaze immediately snaps down to me, his eyes vacant and unfocused. He just continues to stare at me, almost like I'm not even there.

I walk closer to him. "Alex, what's wrong?"

From behind me, I hear the biggest firework of the night go off.

I watch frozen in shock as Alex's face turns into one of pure terror.

Turning, he runs full speed towards the parking lot.

I snap out of it. Turning around, I'm met with the sight of Mack staring wide eyed over where Alex had _just_ been standing.

Ignoring him for the moment, I walk up to Molly, grabbing her arm. "Can you grab our stuff and drop it off tomorrow?" I ask. "Please, we have to go _now_." My eyes flicker back towards the parking lot.

She must've heard the desperation in my voice because she wordlessly nods, turning back to the fireworks.

I tap Don on the shoulder. "Come on!"

Running, I head to where I hope Alex went.

I feel immediate relief when I see he is actually where I had assumed he'd be. But that relief doesn't last long.

Alex is sitting with his back against the side of the car, his knees drawn up to his chest.

He's holding both hands over his ears, noticeably hyperventilating, eyes shut tight.

Wordlessly, I crouch down in front of him. Reaching out, I gently touch his knee.

That was a mistake.

He immediately reacts by flinging his arm out, hitting me square on the shoulder with more force than I'd thought he could muster.

Making me lose my balance in the process.

I fall backwards onto my backside, automatically using my arms to catch myself before I fall flat on my back.

Looking up at Alex, I see he's staring at me with wide frightened eyes.

He closes them again, his breathing picking up even more. I see he's trembling from head to toe, sweat matting his hair.

Is this a...panic attack?

More loud fireworks streak across the sky.

Don comes bounding in between cars, stopping in surprise when his eyes land on Alex.

"What happe-" I cut him off, no time for chitchat.

"Don, lift Alex into the car." I tell him, standing back up.

He nods, walking over towards Alex. Carefully he grabs him on his upper arms, preparing to lift him.

Alex flinches away like we've burned him, another whimper slipping out.

Don tries again, concern stretched across his face. I open the door, and Don sets him inside. shutting the door, I head over towards the other car door.

Getting in, I see Alex is leaning against the door, looking around with cloudy unfocused eyes.

My motherly instincts kick in.

Sliding over so I'm beside him, I wrap my arms protectively around his shoulders.

Don exits the parking lot.

Alex suddenly surprises me as he lays his head down on my shoulder, legs tucking underneath himself, arms wrapping around his stomach.

He's trembling uncontrollably, and I can feel his tears soaking into my shirt, hear his quiet sobs he so desperately tries to muffle.

But thankfully his breathing seems to be getting easier, to the extent he's not hyperventilating.

Soon, we're far enough away the fireworks are reduced to just faint bangs, the long main road putting a good distance between us.

Looking down, I see Alex is surprisingly asleep, his breathing deep and even.

Frowning, I notice he's still trembling.

He suddenly snuggles closer to me, and I can feel my frown turn into a small smile.

I feel questions forming in my head.

What _happened_ to him?

What causes such a nice boy to be so afraid of loud noises, knives, and something that has to do with water?

I might never know.

Sighing, I come back to the present.

Rotating my aching shoulder, I notice he must've bruised it when he hit me.

For being so skinny, he sure has strength.

"So what happened?" Don whispers, looking back at us for a second.

"I'm not sure, but I think he must have a fear of loud noises." I quietly say while gently moving some hair out of his face.

Don's quiet for a moment. "What about, Mack?" He questions, continuously looking at me from the overhead mirror.

Earlier I had agreed with Molly that I'd keep him with us while both Molly and Frank go on a business trip.

It's normal routine for us. Frank and Molly own the town bank so they go on business trips often.

But I'm thinking it might not have been the best option for right now.

I noticed earlier Mack was behaving rather...childish.

But he's just jealous.

Before Alex moved in, Mack would spend most everyday at our farm. But since Alex has been here, Mack hasn't been over once.

His parents don't exactly spend a lot of time with him, they're to put it shortly; Workaholics.

And that's why he would be jealous.

"We'll figure it out." I say more confidently then I feel.

Mack will just have to get over it.

We pull into our driveway, parking shortly later. Turning off the engine, Don gets out, coming around to open the door on Alex's side.

Carefully, I scoot us over.

Don picks him up bridle style, heading for the house.

Getting out, I follow him to the front door. Unlocking it, we walk up to Alex's room.

I pull the covers back so Don can lay him down, slowly taking his shoes off before I pull the covers back up.

I sit on the edge of the mattress, next to his head while Don heads over to the door.

I look up as Don clears his throat.

"I'll come out soon." I tell him.

He nods, walking away.

Five minutes later, I make a move to get up when Alex's face suddenly contorts to one of pure misery.

He starts thrashing his head around, mumbling incoherent words.

I touch his shoulder, and he suddenly sits up with a sharp gasp.

Breathing hard, he looks around with half lidded eyes. When they land on me, he reaches out with a trembling hand, placing it on my arm as he breaks down crying again.

"I-I'm s-sorry." He forces out between his gasps for air.

Confused for a moment, I just stare at him. Then I remember...

He pushed me earlier.

"Alex, it's fine. _I'm_ fine." I try to reassure him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

But he just starts crying harder.

"I-It's all m-my f-fault." He stutters out, holding his head down as if he's too ashamed to face the world.

I start to gently tug his shoulders down in a attempt to try and get him to lay back down again, because it's obvious he's half asleep and doesn't even fully realize what he's doing.

"Hush, Alex. It's alright." I whisper to him, running my fingers through his hair as I try to calm him down.

His eyes flutter.

"E-Everyone a-always gets hurt b-because of _m-me_." He says, desperation leaking from each word.

Thinking it might have been the dream, I come up with a reply. "Everything's alright, Alex. It was just a dream."

But even as I'm saying it out loud, I know in my heart what I said isn't true.

It wasn't just a dream.

He's laying back down now, and I just continue to run my fingers through his hair, quietly whispering soothing words to him.

When he's finally asleep once more, I just continue to comfort him.

I don't bother leaving.

He's had too much of that in his life.

Being alone.

* * *

 **A/N**

Aw, another little Lucy/Alex scene. ^_^

So, how do you think Mack staying with them is going to work out?

Ugh, I was reading over this and I was literally cringing like the whole time. *Nervous laugh* My writing skills a year ago really suck in my opinion.

Anyway. Feel free to review!


	10. Chapter 9

_**Alex's (POV)**_

I slowly blink my eyes open, dark blue walls meeting my hazy gaze.

My room.

Did I just sleep a whole night without nightmares?

The memories of yesterday evening suddenly all come rushing back.

So I didn't go the whole night without them, it was just...earlier.

My heart squeezes.

While Lucy was in here.

Sighing, I sit up.

Now everyone knows how messed up I _really_ am.

I mean, how many people do you come across who have a full blown panic attack over simple fireworks.

Well, it technically wasn't the fireworks, mostly just the noise.

A shudder runs through me as I recall last night.

Getting my mind off that, I check my watch.

6:24 A.M.

I get out of bed, thoughts of yesterday still streaming around in my head. One specific memory sticking out.

Lucy.

She stayed with me.

 _No_ ones ever done that for me.

I get a warm feeling in my chest.

Does she actually care for me?

With that thought, I head towards the bathroom to change my clothes.

When I finish, I slowly start walking towards the stairway.

What are they going to think? Are they going to ask questions? Will they want me to leave?

I feel my heart speed up with that last thought.

Only one way to find out.

Taking a deep breath, I head towards the kitchen. Noticing that I'm actually hungry for once.

Lucy's already in there, cooking pancakes while she hums to herself.

I stop at the entrance, my feet not wanting to move. Lucy seems to sense someone behind her, turning around.

As soon as her eyes land on me, her lips break out in a giant smile.

I feel myself relax.

"Morning, Alex!" She walks over to me, giving me a hug.

Surprised, I just stand there with my hands by my sides as I fight the urge to stiffen up or flinch away.

She lets go of me. "Alex, you could have told us you don't like loud noises." She sincerely says. "We would've left earlier."

My eyes slightly widen.

They would've left early for...Me?

"Sorry." I say a tad louder than I normally talk.

Now her eyes widen in surprise, another smile breaking out.

"There's no need for apologies." She gently says, eyes softening.

With that statement, I understand she's telling me _not_ to worry about anything that happened last night.

As-in when I knocked her over.

I feel guilt squeeze my chest.

But before I can think on it anymore, she leads me over to my seat.

She plops some fresh off the skillet pancakes down on my plate, setting my pill cup beside my water glass.

As I'm pouring a bit of syrup onto my food, Don comes striding in through the door.

He look over at me, giving me a smile. "Good morning, Alex." He says, still walking towards his seat.

I look down at my plate.

"Morning ." I lightly say, absentmindedly poking my pancakes with my fork.

He suddenly stops walking, just continuing to stand there for a few seconds.

Guess I surprised him.

That seems to be happening a lot this morning.

Don sits heavily down in his chair, stacking some pancakes on his plate before dousing them in syrup.

Lucy sits down, looking towards Don. A secret message passes between them, and suddenly I don't feel so hungry.

Maybe they do want to get rid of me?

Sweat runs down my back, and I can feel my heart speeding up in anticipation.

Lucy looks over at me. "So, Alex. Mack is coming to stay with us." She says.

Wait.

What?

Mack...as-in _the_ Mack from last night?

"His parents own the town bank and are leaving on a business trip today." She explains.

Well I guess that does explains it. In more ways than one.

"How long?" I quietly ask once I've struck up the nerve.

Once again they both look surprised. "Probably a week at the longest." Lucy replies, a small smile on her lips.

I nod my head, going back to picking at my food that now taste like chalk.

Why? Just _why_?

He hates me, and I'm not overly fond of him either.

That just spells: **disaster**.

But I'm sure this is normal routine for them, I'm the one imposing on _them_.

Downing my pills, I excuse myself and head up to my room.

I curl up on my bed, just laying there as dread begins to eat me up from inside.

A couple hours later, I hear the unmistakable sound of gravel being crunched underneath tires.

Getting up, I walk over to my window, looking out.

A black fancy looking SUV parks next to Lucy's, a trail of dust floating around in the air. Molly gets out of the passenger side while Mack jumps out of the back, grabbing his luggage.

Dragging his feet, he follows his mom towards the front door.

I lose sight of them, walking back to my bed.

A few minutes later, I hear the car leave.

Great, now I'm stuck here with an unpredictable rhino.

Faintly, I hear someone call my name from downstairs.

Sighing, I get up, walking _back_ downstairs.

As I step into the living room, I spy Mack sitting over on one of the sofas, watching television with a bored expression splattered across his face.

His eyes meet mine for a split second before he quickly looks away.

But I could still tell.

He saw.

Yesterday he must've seen me.

I feel my heart lurch, sweat breaking out on my forehead.

"Alex, why don't you sit down and keep each other company." Lucy suddenly says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Numbly, I take the farthest seat _away_ from Mack on the sofa.

Don gives a small laugh, shaking his head before he carries Mack's luggage upstairs.

Lucy retreats back into the kitchen.

I slouch.

Obviously Lucy and Don are trying to make us get along.

We just sit in awkward silence, the TV on some sports channel being the only noise in the room.

I look down at my watch.

9:35 A.M.

Leaning further back against the sofa, I silently groan.

It's only been 15 minutes.

"So your from London?" Mack questions without even taking his eyes off the TV.

"Yes." I answer just loud enough to be heard.

He grunts, swinging his gaze around to face me.

"You don't sound like it." He crosses his arms, giving me what looks like an accusing stare.

All I do is shrug.

What'd he expect? An accent so strong you can't understand a single word I say.

"So, you do any sports?" He continues.

I take a moment to gather myself. " _Used_ to play soccer." I tell him.

He seems startled for a moment, quickly masking it.

"What do you mean..."Used to?" He makes quotations with his fingers.

Once again, I just shrug.

Seeming displeased about my answer, he goes back to watching the screen.

About thirty minutes later, Mack gets up.

"Come on, let's go kick a soccer ball around." He says while stopping in front of me. "Seems we have something in common after all. But that doesn't mean I like you." His eyes harden.

He heads out the front door.

"Yeah well, same here." I mumble to myself.

I get up, going out the door.

Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this later?

Outside, I see Mack has already found a ball from somewhere, kicking it up and down on his knee while he waits.

"Alright, there's one goal." He points towards two apple trees that are positioned farther away from the others, a grassy clearing in front of them. "Between those two trees." He looks over at me.

I nod in understanding, then we start playing.

And Mack I have to say, is pretty good.

We kick the ball around, and at first I'm losing horribly from being so out of practice.

Which might I say, was _not_ my fault.

But then soon enough, I'm back in my old rhythm, focused solely on getting the ball and scoring.

Sweat streams down my face like a river, dampening my clothes. My breathing coming out in controlled gasps.

But that comes with running around nonstop for a couple hours.

I'm winning: 21 to 18.

While we take a quick breather, I check my watch.

12:18 P.M.

Taking a deep breath, I wince as there's a painful stab deep inside my stomach.

There's also a pounding in the back of my head, a slight dizziness accompanying it.

Maybe it's a bit too much for me to go from _not_ doing anything overly physical for two months, to running around kicking a soccer ball for _over_ two hours.

Thinking back to right before I left the hospital, I'm pretty sure my doctor told me _not_ to do anything too strenuous in the beginning.

He'd said something like; " _Give your body time to adjust to little things. Do too much too early and it will have negative affects."_

Your supposed to listen to your doctor.

But I'm not going to be the one that calls it quits.

I'm ripped from my thoughts as someone yells my name.

"ALEX!"

A white-hot-pain suddenly ignites in my stomach as what feels like a bowling ball slams _full_ force _into_ my stomach.

I gasp out loud, falling to my knees while I wrap my arms tightly around my stomach.

Closing my eyes, I breathe deeply through my nose as I feel bile make its way up my throat.

Deep breaths.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

With a throbbing stomach that feels like it's got hot knives digging into it, I manage to _not_ throw up.

Opening my eyes, I'm met with black spots filling my vision.

I groan again, fighting back another wave of nausea.

"Are you okay?" I look up at Mack's concerned face.

"Fine." I choke out, squeezing my stomach tighter.

From his expression, I can see he doesn't believe me for one second.

"Should I go get someone?" Mack asks, a hint of worry leaking into his voice while he repeatedly glances from the house, back to me.

I raise an eyebrow.

Maybe he does have a caring side.

"Just give me a minute." I mumble out, finding it painful to talk or even breath for that matter.

Taking a couple more deep breaths that feel like hot pokers, I slowly start standing up.

Keeping my arms wrapped tightly around my stomach, I manage to stand with only a slight slouch.

I knew something bad was going to happen.

What'd I tell you?

"Well, I guess no more soccer today." Mack jokes, trying to add some humor to the situation.

I just stare at him.

Is this the same boy that had just been so hostile towards me no more than two hours ago?

It must just be an act, that uncaring stuck up attitude he'd been relentlessly showing.

I quickly piece it together.

Parents that are never home. Me being here, taking his place with people he loves.

Maybe he really isn't a stuck up brat/bully.

Maybe.

I just grunt in reply.

Attempting to take a step, I immediately gasp.

Each step I take feels like I'm being punched in the stomach, hot-lava burning inside me.

I limp to the back porch, placing my slightly trembling hand on the railing as I take a couple more deep breaths before I head inside.

Mack-who's walking in front of me, glances back with a confused mixed with concern expression.

Most likely wondering why I'm acting like I just got hit by a truck.

It would probably be less painful.

Right as we head into the kitchen, Lucy comes walking out, almost colliding with Mack.

"Oh! There you guys are. I was just coming to tell you it's time for lunch." Lucy says, a big smile stretched across her face.

I walk over to my chair, holding my right arm around my aching stomach.

Sitting down makes it hurt less.

But as soon as Lucy lays a ham-sandwich down in front of me, I know I'm not going to be able to eat it. Unless I _want_ to throw it all back up.

Preferably not.

I look over at Mack who's happily eating his sandwich, not even a hint of hesitation on his face.

I feel a twinge of jealousy.

I might never be able to eat like that agin. To eat and not have to worry if your just going to vomit it all up as soon as you finish.

Sighing, I know not to dwell on those things.

Picking up my sandwich, I take a small bite out of it. As I set it back down, I see Mack look over at me strangely.

I just stare down at my plate, pretending to eat.

Don comes in, sitting down at the table while Lucy collects his food for him.

Coming back, I notice she's frowning.

"Alex, we forgot about your medicine in-between breakfast and lunch." Her eyebrows knit together.

My heart skips a beat.

And I just so happen to get hit in the stomach _really_ hard with a soccer ball _on_ the day I forgot to take my medicine that's specifically for my stomach condition.

Great, just great.

"Must've been having too much fun out there playing soccer." Don says, amusement coating voice.

"Is that alright, Alex? Are you okay?" Lucy asks, concern growing on her face.

I just nod my head, immediately regretting it when the hammering starts back up in the back of my skull.

"So I was thinking I could join you boys in some soccer later?" Don asks, looking between Mack and I.

Mack glances over at me, then turns back to Don.

"Actually I'm kinda pooped for today. Maybe tomorrow." Mack apologetically says.

Don looks a tad disappointed before replacing it with a smirk. "Sounds good to me. So are you two getting along better?" He questions.

I just stare down at my plate, letting Mack answer.

"Maybe a little."

I look up at Mack who's smirking back at Don, almost like he's daring him to deny it.

"Well that's great!" Lucy happily says, obviously ignoring Don and Mack's little staring contest.

They all continue to finish their food, Lucy commenting on something in her magazine every few minutes.

I've taken one bite out of my sandwich and _can't_ eat anymore. Only one thought circling around in my head.

I _need_ to go lay down.

Taking my meds, I excuse myself, carefully getting up from my chair. Fully aware that everyone's staring at me.

Hiding my limp the best I can, I exit the kitchen and head up the stairs.

By the time I've reached the top, sweat is running down my face like a river, a heat floating from my stomach all the way up to my head.

I walk into my room, shutting the door.

Not even bothering with a shower after all that running around, I go over to my bed. Taking off my shoes, I curl up with my arms around my stomach, knees drawn up to my chest.

My head feels like it's literally going to explode, my stomach on fire with pain, nausea circling around inside me.

Curling up tighter, I take carefully measured deep breaths, just like how the doctors instructed.

But it doesn't go away.

It just continues to hammer and burn, my hair plastered to my neck and forehead from all the sweat.

I feel tears begin to build up in my eyes.

It hurts _so_ badly.

* * *

 _ **Mack's (POV)**_

Maybe this Alex guy isn't so bad. I mean sure he doesn't really talk much, which _really_ annoys me for some reason. He's taken Lucy and Don's attention, their _time_.

My time with them.

But maybe I'm just judging a book by its cover...?

I literally _don't_ know anything about him, so I can't just hate him. But I couldn't reign in my jealousy, it got the better of me and now we're at odds.

And after seeing him last night...the fireworks.

A shudder runs through me as I recall Alex's fear ridden expression.

Well I guess time will tell.

Deciding that I'm bored of watching TV, I get up. "Come on, let's go kick a soccer ball around." I walk so I'm standing in front of Alex-who's just staring blankly over at the screen.

"Seems we have something in common after all. But it _doesn't_ mean I like you." I say more harshly than I intended.

Heading out, I don't wait on Alex. Finding my ball, I start doing a couple drills.

When Alex finally comes over, I explain where the goal is, then we start playing.

At first I was excited.

I'm the _better_ soccer player.

For the first hour Alex was being slow, his feet uncoordinated. But then he started warming up to it.

And it was awesome.

I could barely keep up with him he was moving so fast, and he was definitely _not_ tripping over the ball anymore.

It was like he and the ball were one.

As sappy as that sounds.

Gliding around me like I wasn't even there, face set in such deep concentration that anyone could tell just by looking that he's in the _zone_.

Trying to keep my surprise from showing on my face, I continue playing.

I did _not_ expect this from him. I mean, he looks pretty athletic and all, but _way_ too skinny.

Like I said earlier: don't judge a book by its cover.

After another hour of playing, we're both gasping for breath, sweat all over us.

Taking a break, I sit down, trying to catch my breath.

I'm losing: 21 to 18.

I shake my head in wonder.

And I only scored all my points from the _first_ hour, because I sure as heck didn't score any from the last.

When school starts up again he should join our soccer team.

With him, we would be unbeatable.

I smile at the thought.

I stand up.

Seeing the soccer ball just sitting there in front of me, I get a sudden urge to kick it as _hard_ as I can.

And I do.

Except I forgot one thing...

Check my surroundings.

At the same time my foot connects with the ball, I look up to see Alex standing thirty feet away.

 _Right_ where the ball is going to go.

I yell out, hoping he'll move out of the way in time.

He doesn't.

I watch as the ball sails through the air in a perfect arch, hitting him square in the stomach with a resounding WHACK.

I hear him draw in a sharp gasp, then he falls to his knees, wrapping both arms around his stomach.

I run over to him.

I'm such an idiot.

How could I _not_ of seen him standing _right_ there. Now he'll probably think I did it on purpose.

I stop in front of him.

He has his eyes shut, breathing deeply while his arms tighten even tighter around his stomach.

His face is pale, set in a painful grimace.

What should I do? Should I go get someone?

After a minute, Alex blinks his eyes open. Groaning, he continues to blink-like he's having trouble focusing.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, hearing the concern in my voice.

"Fine." He barely gets out.

I give him an unbelieving stare.

"Should I go get someone?" I finally ask.

He raises an eyebrow at me, like he can't believe I just asked that.

Hey, I have a caring side.

"Just give me a minute." He mumbles out.

He honestly doesn't look any better, and now he seems to be having difficulties breathing.

After a couple painful looking deep breaths, he manages to stand...well, stand/slouch.

"Well, I guess no more soccer today." I say, attempting to add some humor.

He just grunts in reply before taking a step. He immediately gasps, pausing as he seems to mentally prepare himself.

He takes another small hesitant step, continuing to limp over towards the back porch.

Frowning, I follow.

I know that probably hurt a _lot_ , but why's it having such a lasting effect on him?

Going inside, I pass Alex in the hallway, glancing back at him with a puzzled expression on my face.

Walking into the kitchen, I expertly dodge Lucy as we almost collide into each other.

Let's just say this happens a lot.

She gives us one of her big smiles. "Oh! There you guys are. I was just coming to tell you it's time for lunch." She says.

I head to my seat, immediately digging into my sandwich Lucy already has sitting out.

Lucy and Alex take their seats.

After I'm about halfway done with my food, I hear Alex sigh from across the other side of the table.

Looking over, I see him take a small bite, setting it back down.

He just stares down at it, like it's the sandwiches fault for being there in the first place.

He glances up and immediately notices me staring over at him. Quickly he looks back down at his plate.

I share a look with Lucy.

What's wrong with him?

He should be feeling better by now.

Don comes in from outside, sitting down with a heavy sigh.

Lucy gets up to fetch his food, returning with a concerned look on her face.

What? Don's food too cold?

Giving Don his food, she faces Alex. "Alex, we forgot about your medicine in-between breakfast and lunch."

I see Alex ever so slightly tense up.

Medicine?

"Must've been having too much fun out there playing soccer." Don says, amusement coating his voice.

Lucy still looks concerned. "Is that alright Alex? Are you okay?"

Alex shrugs like it's nothing.

But I don't believe him.

"So I was thinking I could join you boys in some soccer later?" Don asks, taking a bite of his sandwich.

I look over at Alex.

I really _don't_ think he's going to want to play anymore today.

Thinking fast, I give Don an answer. "Actually I'm kinda pooped for today. Maybe tomorrow."

He looks disappointed before quickly replacing it with a smirk. "Sounds good to me. So are you two getting along better?"

I smirk back.

"Maybe a little." I reply, taking another bite out of my sandwich.

Lucy looks excited about that prospect. "Well that's great!" She gives us a big smile.

Finishing my sandwich, I look over towards Alex who's in the midst of taking some pills.

What are those for?

He slowly gets up, asking to be excused.

While he's walking away, I can tell he's _still_ limping.

And apparently _some_ other people noticed also.

"What happened?" Don asks, looking accusingly over at me.

"Mack, did you do something?" Lucy raises an eyebrow at me.

Why do they _always_ assume everything's my fault...?

Okay, so maybe a lot of things are usually my fault...but that's besides the point.

"No. I mean I did, but it wasn't _really_ my fault." I try pleading.

"What _happened_?" Don asks again.

I hang my head down, tracing my finger over the designs in the wood tabletop.

"We were playing soccer, and I may or may not have kicked the ball into his stomach." I mumble out.

"Mack!" Lucy exclaims, disbelief in her voice. "How in the world do you just kick a ball into someone's stomach?"

Thankfully Don comes to my defense. "Lucy dear, calm down. Boys will be boys." Don tries to explain. "Things like this happen all the time."

"I know that! But you know Alex has a... _sensitive_ stomach." Lucy says, losing some of her frustration.

Sensitive stomach?

"Accidents happen." Don simply says, going back to eating.

After I finish mine, I head back into the living room to watch some more TV.

About an hour later, Lucy comes in from out back.

She stops by me. "Mack, I want to show you what I got your mother for her birthday." She excitedly says.

I groan, slowly getting up.

So I follow her upstairs.

When we're about halfway up the stairs, the sound of a door being opened loudly reaches our ears.

Another door opens, and we hear the unmistakable sound of someone vomiting.

Lucy wordlessly runs up the rest of the steps, me following.

We're greeted with the sight of Alex on his knees, bent over the toilet, in the process of vomiting up more...vomit.

Lucy immediately runs into the bathroom, holding his hair back out of the way of his face.

I pause at the doors entrance.

Without meaning to, I get a clear glance of inside the toilet.

Blood.

There's some blood mixed in with the vomit.

I feel bile rise in the back of my own throat, and I turn away in a attempt to calm my stomach.

Looking back after a second, I see Alex is just hovering over the toilet now, eyes closed tightly shut.

He's trembling, a sheen of sweat coating his face and dampening his hair, one arm wrapped around his stomach while the other one supports his weight.

Lucy helps him up.

Groaning, he sways for a second before grabbing onto the sink for support.

Lucy looks over at me, and I get the message.

Walking in, I grab the other side of Alex. And together we walk him back to his room.

Laying him down on his bed, he immediately curls up, holding his stomach with trembling arms.

Lucy places the back of her hand on his sweaty forehead, keeping it there for a moment.

She gets up, looking at me. "Stay here, I've got to go get some things."

I nod, walking closer to his bed while she practically sprints out of the room.

Looking back over at Alex, I'm shocked to see tears now sliding down both his cheeks.

Is this from me?

I think back to after Alex had left lunch, when Lucy had said something about Alex having a sensitive stomach.

The pills.

I start to feel guilty.

Am I the reason he's in so much pain right now?

Alex is breathing hard, his face twisted in pain while he keeps his eyes sealed shut.

He starts whimpering.

Lucy runs back in carrying a hot water pad, a cup of water, a rag, and a plastic bucket.

"Alex, it'll be okay." She soothingly says to him while stroking his forehead, taking a seat on the bed beside his head.

She slightly lifts his head up. "Drink some water." She places the cup at his lips, and he takes a dainty sip.

Gently she pries his arms from around his middle, placing the hot water pad on his stomach.

He immediately rewraps his arms back around, hot water pad tucked neatly in-between his stomach and arms.

She sets the bucket on the floor, next to the bed.

"For if your sick again." She tells Alex.

Taking the rag, she starts dabbing his forehead.

"Does he have a fever?" I ask, remembering when I had one she did the same exact thing.

"Yes." She softly answers.

Looking back at Alex, I notice he seems just little more comfortable than before.

But I still feel the guilt gnawing away.

"Is this my fault?" I ask Lucy.

Without pausing, she replies.

"No."

* * *

 **A/N**

You're so stubborn Alex. Lol.

So, thoughts? **REVIEW! ^_^** What's going to happen now?


	11. Chapter 10

_**Lucy's (POV)**_

Maybe I should take Alex to the doctor? It's been two hours since we first found him, and he hasn't improved much.

I walk back into his room, holding a thermometer.

He's still curled up, knees drawn to his chest and arms wrapped securely around his stomach. Face drenched in sweat.

I sit down on the bed next to him.

"Alex, let me take your temperature."

He lightly moans in protest before hesitantly opening his mouth for me to put the thermometer in.

When it beeps, I take it out and read it.

102.4 F.

My eyes slightly widen.

He definitely has a fever.

More worried than I already was, I look back over at Alex.

He's breathing hard, body trembling like he's out in thirty degree weather in only shorts, eyes clenched tightly shut.

For a little while earlier he was acting like he felt better, like the pain had gone.

But then it started back up.

Throwing up around three more times he probably doesn't have anything left in his stomach by now, sweat literally dripping down his forehead.

Alex suddenly starts whimpering again, holding his stomach tighter as a fresh wave of pain hits him.

I lean closer to him, lightly rubbing his shoulder in a attempt to comfort him.

He noticeably tenses up at my touch, and I almost expect him to rebut me. But after a minute he relaxes again, a gentle sigh escaping his mouth.

I frown as I suddenly notice something odd underneath his shirt while I'm comforting him.

It feels like raised skin.

Like scars.

My frown only grows as I continue to notice more. And that's only on his shoulder.

I'm torn from my thoughts when Mack walks in, Don in tow behind him.

"Found him." Mack simply says, eyes immediately landing on Alex.

Looking up at Don, I watch him examine Alex with concerned blue eyes.

"What do we do?" He wonders, now looking back at me for some kind of answer.

Making up my mind, I look over at Mack.

"Go get the phone." I tell him.

He nods, running back out the door.

"Who ya gonna call?" I look back up at Don. "Tulip." I answer him.

He gives a small nod, leaning back against the doorframe. I hear Mack's loud footsteps before he comes in, quickly handing me the phone.

I quickly type in her number, holding it to my ear while I wait.

After two rings, she picks up.

"Lucy."

"Hi, Tulip. We've had a bit of an accident." I decide to get straight to the point.

I hear her sigh on the other side of the phone, almost like she was expecting something like this to happen. "What's wrong?"

"Well, Alex was outside playing soccer with my nephew and accidentally got hit with the ball on his stomach." I tell her, hearing my own concern in my voice.

"How's he doing?" Tulip asks.

"He's been sick a couple times, and..." I pause, lowering my voice. "There was blood in it."

She stays silent, contemplating.

"Should I take him to the doctor?" I ask the question I had called her for.

She takes a moment before saying anything. "Can you give the phone to Alex?"

I furrow my brows in confusion, but comply anyway.

I turn towards Alex, only to notice he's been listening to the whole conversation.

"She wants to talk to you."' I gently say.

Slowly he unwraps one shaking arm, taking the phone from my hand. Holding it up to his ear, he listens.

I get up, heading out the door with everyone else to give them some privacy.

Looking inside the room from the hallway, I see Alex mumble a few things into the phone, his face set in a stubborn scowl.

After a minute, I go back in and Alex hands me the phone back. Then he proceeds to curl up, making himself as small as possible.

Sensing he didn't like how that conversation went at all, I put the phone back up to my ear without a word.

"I'll have an appointment ready for him by the time you get there." Tulip says, voice empty of any emotion.

Surprised, I take a second to answer. "Alright, bye."

"Thanks for calling me first Lucy, I appreciate it." She hangs up.

That's Tulip for you.

I hand the phone back to Mack. "Alright everyone, we're going to the doctor." I announce.

I look back down at Alex. "Do you think you can stand?"

As an answer, he attempts to get up, a permanent grimace on his face.

Don walks over, helping him stand.

With the help of Mack and Don, Alex makes it down the stairs and out the door. Running outside after grabbing my purse, I see them helping him into the SUV.

I head towards the other back door, getting in. Looking over, I see Alex is leaning against the door, holding his stomach like his life depended on it.

With Don driving and Mack sitting passenger, we head towards town.

Thankfully throughout the ride Alex doesn't get sick, and before we know it Don's pulling into the parking lot of the towns doctor office.

Alex is looking around with heavy eyes, not seeming to be very happy about the whole thing.

Getting out, Don and Mack help Alex to the waiting room. I head over to the receptionist.

She looks up at me. "Hello, do you have an appointment today?" She questions.

"Yes." I quickly answer, trying to get things moving.

"Name?"

"Alex Rider." She clicks some buttons on her computer, then looks back up at me.

"Alright, the doctor will be ready soon." She finishes.

I nod, walking back to the waiting room where I find Alex sitting with his legs drawn up to his chest, arms around his stomach.

Don and Mack look up at me from where they're sitting. "It'll be a minute." I tell them.

They go back to staring at nothing, and I take a seat beside Alex.

I look at his face he's partially hiding, only to see that he's scared.

Scared of what?

Before I can act on that thought, a nurse walks out of a hallway.

"Alex Rider." She calls.

I stand up, motioning for Don and Mack to help Alex. Reluctantly he unfolds himself, slowly standing up, arms back around his stomach.

The nurse leads us to a small room that has a computer, two metal chairs in the corner, a swivel chair, and the examination bed.

The nurse gestures Don towards the bed, and they lead Alex over to it.

"The doctor will be here in a moment." The nurse says before leaving and shutting the door.

I look up at a clock hanging on the wall.

5:30 P.M.

I face Mack and Don who are just standing awkwardly beside the door. "Why don't you two go get something to eat and pick us up in thirty minutes." I tell them.

Don looks hesitant. "If your sure?"

I give him a stern glare, not backing down. "Of course I'm sure." I can handle this...

I think.

"Well, I'm hungry if anyone cares." Mack sarcastically says, looking between the two of us.

Don holds up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright."

He glances over at Alex. "Text me if you need anything." He makes the meaning a little too clear.

They head out the door, Mack looking over his shoulder at Alex.

Turning back to Alex, I see he's laying against the back rest, legs stretched out, arms wrapped around his stomach. He's breathing hard, and sweat mats his hair, eyes wide in obvious fear.

Walking over, I stand beside him, placing what I hope is a comforting hand on his arm.

He looks over at me, the fear in his eyes lessening.

"It'll be alright, Alex." I pause, thinking. "The doctor here's real nice."

Just then, the door squeaks open and Alex jumps in surprise.

Doctor Quinn enters, clipboard in hand, stethoscope around her neck. She looks over at Alex, then at me, a smile on her lips. "Hey Lucy." Her gaze goes back to Alex. "If I remember correctly we weren't supposed to meet for another week, Alex."

She walks over to the other side of Alex. "Alex, I'm Doctor Quinn." She introduces, still smiling.

Alex ignores eye contact, giving only a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Alright, let me get this straight." She sits down in the swivel chair.

"You have Abdominal Trauma, and just so happened to get hit in the stomach with a soccer ball?" She asks while looking at Alex.

He just nods.

"So, I've already been told about you being sick." She says, now serious. "Have you been sick anymore since then?"

He slowly shakes his head no.

"Okay, lets start with your temperature." She says, getting up to go over to one of the cabinets.

Walking back beside Alex, she places the thermometer in his mouth. After a minute, she takes it out, examining it before writing something down on her clipboard.

"Now your pulse." She reaches out to grab his right wrist, but he quickly reacts by jerking it back out of her reach.

She looks mildly surprised for second before masking it, gently trying again. Only to get the same results.

"Alright, I'll just use my stethoscope." She amends, unwrapping it from around her neck, placing the ends in her ears.

"Can you sit up, Alex?"

Slowly, he sits up, grimacing in pain the whole time.

Quinn raises the diaphragm to his back, placing it in different spots while pausing a few seconds at each one.

Taking off her stethoscope, she places it back around her neck, writing on her clipboard again.

"So Alex, do you have any other pain besides your stomach?" She asks, tapping her pen on the clipboard.

Alex thinks for a moment, slowly nodding his head yes.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"Can you tell me where?" She kindly asks.

He hesitates. "My head." He whispers out.

She nods like she expected this. "Was it before or after you got hit in the stomach?"

"Before." He mumbles out, looking ashamed.

"Hmm, I'd say the headache is mostly from overdoing it playing soccer." Quinn says, sitting down again. "And from the expression on your face I'm guessing you already knew that."

Ah, that explains it.

She stands up again, walking up to Alex.

"This might sound weird, but I need to feel your stomach." She apologetically says, like she already knows he won't like it.

Which he doesn't.

Immediately he scoots further back on the bed, tightening his hold on his stomach.

"Alex, please let her." I ask, surprise clearly on my face from his odd reaction.

He shakes his head _No_ , face set in a stubborn frown.

Quinn places her hand on his tense shoulder. "It'll be fine." She gives him a look I can't interpret.

Reluctantly, he places his trembling arms down beside him.

I notice his breathing start to pick up again.

"Alex, take some deep breaths." Quinn says in a kind yet commanding tone.

He starts taking some deep breaths, and when Quinn begins lifting the bottom of his shirt, he looks away, flinching.

But I stare, transfixed on the sight in front of me. There, on the right side of his stomach is a slightly raised, bluish-red four inch scar.

My eyes involuntarily widen.

That looks like a knife wound.

I know Abdominal Trauma is usually caused by something either impaling the stomach, or when something jams the stomach too hard. But I never thought this would be the reason _he_ has it.

He was stabbed...?

Quinn lifts his shirt up to about where his much-too-noticeable ribs start, and I spot some other scars peeking out from underneath.

Then she gently begins pressing at certain areas on his stomach, being extra careful around the obviously irritated scar.

As she presses on one individual spot, Alex flinches, a gasp escaping his mouth.

"Feels like it's flared up." Quinn says more to herself, concentration clear on her face.

After a few more spots, Alex has tears in his eyes, fists clenching so hard they look white.

Finally Quinn stops, and Alex hastily pulls his shirt back down.

That reminds me, didn't I feel something like raised skin on his shoulder earlier...?

There can't be more scars.

Right?

But somewhere in my head, I can feel that it's true. Which would also explain why he only wears long sleeve shirts.

He has scars on his arms, and he doesn't want anyone to see them.

I feel my heart spasm in sorrow from just the thought of how much pain he must've gone through.

But how did it happen?

"Alright, I'm going to prescribe a pill to help the inflammation go down."

Quinn's voice breaks me from my thoughts.

Looking over at her, I see she's on her computer, fingers typing away.

"Should take about a week before it's better." She looks at Alex. "And no more doing too much physical stuff, mister. Your obviously not ready for that yet."

He nods his head.

I take my phone out of my purse, noticing I have a text from Don saying they're in the waiting room.

I tell him to come help.

Quinn looks over at me. "So you heard me Lucy, make sure he gets plenty of rest and he should be feeling better by tomorrow." She assures.

"Yes, thank you Quinn." I feel relief spread throughout out me at her positive attitude.

She smiles at me. "Anytime."

She looks back over at Alex. "And I'll see you around a week for your original checkup."

She gives me the receipt for the medication, walking towards the door.

"Bye guys!" She says.

"Bye." I return before she's out the door.

I look back over at Alex, who's avoiding eye contact as usual.

"Do you think you'll be able to eat any dinner?" I ask him.

"No." He mumbles out, suddenly looking like he's about to fall asleep at any second.

The door opens again, Don and Mack appearing at the entrance.

"Time to go?" Mack hopefully asks.

"Yeah, let's go." I drift off, my mind still on other things.

Together they help Alex down and out the door, heading towards the exit. Once outside, they get him back into the backseat of the car.

I slide into the car right next to Alex, feeling extra protective about him for some reason.

After we've picked up the prescription, and when we're about halfway home, I feel something lightly hit my shoulder.

Looking over, I see Alex is fast asleep, his head laying on my shoulder.

* * *

 **A/N**

Review!

P.S. As I've stated before, I also have this book on a site/app called Wattpad. There I currently have this book completed along with book two. Book three is underway. I'd honestly appreciate it if any of you would possibly stop by and give it some Votes and even some comments. _(Tell me you read this on !)_

Both the title and username are the same! Go check it out and leave a vote or two! _(Or more lol)_

Maggy


	12. Chapter 11

_**Alex's (POV)**_

"Alex, how bad is it?" Mrs. Jones questions over the phone.

Like my insides decided to take a trip through a meat grinder, _then_ decided to party in a blender.

"I'm fine." I mumble into the phone right before another wave of pain hits me, a groan unwillingly escaping my mouth.

"I don't believe you." She deadpans before pausing, and I hear her sigh on the other end. "Alex, I'm asking them to take you to the doctor."

My heart stops.

"No." I force out.

I don't want to go see a doctor, no mater how bratty that sounds. They have to examine you and I _really_ don't want that right now, or ever actually. And besides, there's too many bad memories involving doctors...

And she knows it.

"I'm sorry Alex, but I'm not giving you a choice." Another pause. "This is serious, you need to see a doctor."

"I've already seen plenty." I retort back, my stubborn side showing through.

"Alex." She gives me a warning tone.

Now I sigh.

Guess I don't really have an option.

"Fine." I grumble.

"Alex, it'll be alright." Her voice switches to a gentle tone. "The doctor is the one you were supposed to see in another week anyways."

As in he or she has already been told as much about me that's within reason.

"Hope you feel better, Alex. Bye." Mrs. Jones finishes.

"Bye." I mumble out, feeling a stab of loneliness.

Lucy walks back in, as if she knew _exactly_ when I'd be done talking on the phone. She takes the phone and I curl back up.

I don't want to go.

"Alright everyone, we're going to the doctors." Lucy announces after talking on the phone a bit longer.

I groan quietly as the hammering starts back up in the back of my head.

"Do you think you can stand?" I hear Lucy ask, which I'm assuming was directed towards me.

I work on getting up, each movement sending stabs of pain to my stomach _and_ head.

When I'm standing, Don and Mack come over, supporting me on each side as we head out the door.

Going down the stairs and out the front door, we make it to the car in one piece...sorta. Mack opens it, and they attempt to help me in.

Once they shut the door, I lean against it while holding my aching stomach.

Lucy gets in beside me, and Don starts the car. Leaning my warm head against the cool window, I feel myself start to drift off as the drowsiness becomes too much.

The car stops.

Jerking my head up, I look around with half lidded eyes.

We're in a parking lot, and in front of us is a decent sized building with the sign,

' **Town Doctor'** on it.

I really don't want to be here.

Getting out, I refrain from making any noises that would alert them to the fact that I'm in pain.

Maybe then they'll take me back...?

Great, now I'm just being hopeful.

Gritting my teeth, we make it to the waiting room, taking a seat.

Finding these seats _very_ uncomfortable due to my stomach condition, I pull my legs up to my chest.

I sigh in relief as I feel some of the strain on my stomach fade away.

Much better.

But that relief doesn't last long.

What if the doctor wants me to take my shirt off? I can't do that.

I feel my heartbeat increase with each thought.

After sitting for what feels like hours, a nurse finally walks in, clipboard in hand. "Alex Rider." She calls.

Feeling my heart skip a beat, I watch as Lucy stands up, motioning over towards Don and Mack.

Slowly, I unfold myself and stand up. Wincing as what feels like knives slice through my stomach.

We follow the nurse back to a small room that has all the normal doctor stuff spread around it.

She gestures Don and Mack over towards the ugly little bed in the back.

After they help me up, I look over at the nurse. "The doctor will be here in a moment." She says.

She leaves the room, shutting the door with a quiet click.

After a moment, Lucy questions Don and Mack. "Why don't you two go get something to eat and pick us up in thirty minutes?"

I zone out as they begin to bicker.

Leaning against the back of the bed, I observe my surroundings in a attempt to get my mind off what's going to happen.

It doesn't work very well.

I hear my own breathing pick up, feel the sweat start dripping down into my eyes, heart thumping in my chest.

I notice both Mack and Don have left the room.

Good.

But Lucy's still here.

What if she sees something?

Lost in thought, I almost jump as I feel someone touch my arm. Looking over, I see it's Lucy, a comforting smile spread across her face.

Her touch gives me an odd calming affect and I'm suddenly glad she decided to stay.

"It'll be alright, Alex." She pauses. "The doctor here's real nice."

The door opens and being as wound up as I am, I can't contain the small jump I give at the noise.

A middle age woman walks in. She's wearing a white doctors coat, a stethoscope around her neck, and a clipboard in her right hand.

What is it with everyone around here needing a clipboard?

With a smile on her face she looks over at Lucy first. "Hey Lucy." Then she looks over at me, eyes examining. "If I remember correctly we weren't supposed to meet for another week, Alex." Her tone of voice implies that she's making a small joke.

Walking so she stands on the other side of me, she introduced herself. "Alex, I'm Doctor Quinn."

Looking down, I give a small nod.

How much does she know?

"Alright, let me get this straight." She says while walking over towards the swivel chair, taking a seat.

"You have Abdominal Trauma, and just so happened to get hit in the stomach with a soccer ball?"

I give another nod, hiding a wince as my head starts throbbing.

"So, I've already been told about you being sick." She says, now completely serious. "Have you been sick anymore since then?"

Slowly I shake my head, trying to _not_ make it throb anymore than it already is.

"Okay, lets take your temperature." She says while walking over to one of the many cabinets.

Coming back over beside me, she places the thermometer in my mouth. After a few seconds she takes it out, writing something down on _that_ clipboard.

"Now your pulse." She reaches for my right wrist.

My heart speeds up in fear and I automatically jerk my hand away.

No! I _won't_ let her see that. I don't care if she already knows.

I keep my head down, chest tightening.

She tries again with my left wrist, only to get the same result as I jerk it away.

Trust me, that one is just as bad as the other.

I suddenly notice my hands are now shaking, quickly tucking them under my thighs before anyone catches them.

She _finally_ gives up. "Alright, I'll just use my stethoscope." She takes it off from around her neck.

"Can you sit up, Alex?" She questions.

Slowly I sit up, wincing as my stomach completely disagrees with the idea.

She places the diaphragm on my back in a few places, then hangs it back around her neck. Writing on her clipboard _once_ again.

Darn clipboards.

"So Alex, do you have any other pain besides your stomach?" She kindly asks, looking me over while tapping her pen on the board.

Should I say anything?

As if answering the question, my head gives a mighty throb that brings black spots to my eyes.

Still looking down, I slowly nod my head.

"Can you tell me where?" She asks with the same tone.

I take a moment to form my words. "My head." I mumble out.

"Was it before or after you got hit in the stomach?" She questions like she already knows the answer.

I wince. Definitely was expecting that question.

"Before." I mumbles out, remembering what my other doctor said about 'not over doing things.'

"Hmm, I'd say the headache is mostly from overdoing it playing soccer." Quinn says, walking over to sit down again. "And from the expression on your face I'm guessing you already knew that."

Ashamed, I feel my face heat up.

I hear her get up, tensing as she walks back over to me. "This might sound weird, but I need to feel your stomach." She apologetically says.

I feel my heart painfully lurch in my chest.

No.

Frowning, I scoot further back on the bed, wrapping my arms tightly around my stomach.

"Alex, please let her." I look over at Lucy, shaking my head.

Instantly regretting it as the pounding starts back up with renewed strength.

Doctor Quinn places her hand on my arm. "It'll be fine." She assures, giving me a look that only I can read.

She knows.

Too tired to put up anymore resistance, I slowly place my arms back down at my sides.

My breathing picks up, and I suddenly can't catch my breath as my chest tightens unbearably.

"Alex, take some deep breaths." I look up at Doctor Quinn with wide eyes, her voice commanding yet gentle.

I start doing what she says.

She lifts my shirt up, and I immediately flinch like I've just been shocked, looking away.

I don't need to see it, I know it's ugly and I hate it...

I hate the memories that assault me every time I look at it.

Now I just feel even worse for not telling Lucy anything. What does she think of me now?

I quickly look up at her.

She's staring wide eyed over at me, confusion swirling in her eyes.

Maybe one day.

Thankfully Doctor Quinn only lifts my shirt up to where my ribs start. Which unbeknownst to them, is right where the _others_ begin.

They won't see the rest.

She starts to gently probe around my stomach. When she hits an extra sensitive spot, I can't help but flinch, a gasp escaping my mouth.

It all hurts.

"Feels like it's flared up" Quinn says.

You don't say.

With my fists clenched tightly from the pain, I go back to taking deep breaths, trying to control the tears I feel building up as each one of her _gentle_ probes feels like a hot poker to my insides.

Finally she finishes, and I quickly tug my shirt back down over my stomach as I let a breath of relief out. The tightness in my chest loosening.

Doctor Quinn walks over to a computer. "Alright, I'm going to prescribe a pill to help the inflammation go down." She says while typing.

"Should take about a week before it's better." She looks over at me. "And no more doing too much physical stuff, mister. Your obviously not ready for that yet."

I nod my head.

Yeah, definitely not doing that again.

Looking over at Lucy, I see she's on her phone.

Probably texting Don.

"So you heard me Lucy, make sure he gets plenty of rest and he should be feeling better by tomorrow." Quinn says, looking over at Lucy.

"Yes, thank you Quinn." Lucy says.

"Anytime." Quinn replies with a smile.

She looks back at me. "And I'll see you around a week for your original checkup."

My heart stops, just the thought of it bringing me anxiety.

She hands Lucy a piece of paper, then walks towards the door. "Bye guys!"

"Bye." Lucy simply replies with, still seeming a bit stunned about...me.

After Quinn shuts the door, Lucy looks over at me.

Feeling like I owe her an explanation that I don't want to give, I avoid any eye contact.

Suddenly I feel like I've got bricks on top of my eyes, a drowsiness washing over me like I just jumped into a pool of water.

The day must be catching up to me.

Three hours of sleep does _nothing_ for you.

"Do you think you'll be able to eat any dinner?" Lucy questions.

I feel my stomach twist _very_ unpleasantly at the thought of food.

"No." I barely get out, my eyes blinking rapidly.

I can feel a yawn wanting to break out, but I contain it.

The door opens, Don and Mack walking through.

"Time to go?" Mack hopefully asks.

"Yeah, let's go." Lucy drifts off, her mind looking like it's on something else completely.

I think I can guess at what _that_ would be.

With Don and Mack sadly helping me like I'm some weak little toddler, we make it back to the car.

Sitting in the same seat as on the way here, Lucy slides in a tad closer to me than earlier.

Don starts the car.

I feel my eyes start to drift shut, the comfortable warmth of the car enveloping me like a warm blanket.

Blinking rapidly a couple times, I lightly shake my head in a vain attempt to stay awake.

But after we've picked up the prescription, I can tell I'm not going to be able to stay awake much longer.

Surrounded in a comfortable hazy fog, I feel myself tilt over as we go around a turn.

My head gently lands on something.

And before I know it, I'm in the deepest sleep I've had in over two months.

* * *

 **A/N**

So basically this is just a recap from the last chapter, only in Alex's POV. ^_^ I'm posting the next chapter now. I seriously thought I had already posted this one, but apparently it didn't save or something.


	13. Chapter 12

_**Alex's (POV)**_

 _I'm being held roughly by my shoulders on each side, my legs dragging lifelessly across the hard ground behind me._

 _Stick and Rat are currently escorting me down a long dark hallway, the air musty and stale. We turn down a familiar looking hall and my heart skips a beat as I recognize the area._

 _Not here again._

 _I try pulling away, struggling to get free. But they just grip me tighter, continuing to drag me along between them like some rag doll._

 _It's been almost two full weeks now that I've been in this terrible place. Hoping that somehow I'd be rescued._

 _But I haven't._

 _I feel a sob get stuck in my throat, tears threatening to spill from my bloodshot eyes._

 _Not a day's gone by where they haven't hurt me in someway. Be it physically, or mentally._

 _I can feel myself slowly breaking, my resolve to survive dwindling with each passing day._

 _We stop in front of a big iron door._

 _Once again I give a feeble pull, trying to get away._

 _I can't go back in there!_

 _My head suddenly jerks painfully back as Rat slaps me hard in the face._

 _I taste blood in my mouth, those tears I'd been trying so desperately to hold back suddenly released as they come streaming down my cheeks like a river._

 _"Oh quit your struggling you big baby." Rat says, annoyance lacing his voice._

 _Stick unlocks the large door, and together they pull me into the dimly lit room._

 _I hear my breathing hitch before rapidly picking up, my heart beating a mile a minute._

 _There, in the middle of the room, is a small inclosed square cell. It's about six feet by six feet, the bars about eight inches apart from each other._

 _My eyes widen._

 _They can probably fit through the bars on this cell._

 _They drag me up to the door, open it, carelessly throwing me in._

 _My palms, knees, and shins painfully smack the cold cement ground as I land. My hands catching my face just mere centimeters before it also would've hit the floor._

 _They slam the cell door shut._

 _I get up on my smarting knees, facing them._

 _"N-No!" I desperately shout._

 _They just stare for a moment before breaking out in laughter. "Pathetic." Stick spits out before they both turn and leave._

 _I hear the resounding BANG of the door shutting closed. The lock going back in place._

 _Whimpering, I crawl towards the middle of the cell. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrap my arms around them._

 _They've done this to me before, I know what to do, I know what to expect._

 _The room suddenly goes pitch black._

 _All I hear is my loud raspy breathing, my heart hammering in my ears._

 _But just because I know what to expect, doesn't mean it makes it any easier._

 _Then I hear them._

 _It starts with just a couple distant barks, the air getting thicker with anticipation. And before I know it, a small door opens at the bottom of the large door, and the barks of what sounds like hundreds of dogs fills the room._

 _Whimpering, I hug myself tighter._

 _They start by circling the cell, the barking never ceasing. The cell rattles, howls filled with fury echoing throughout the room._

 _I make out what must be around seven large dogs. And due to the lights being off, I can't make out what breed they are._

 _But it doesn't matter._

 _I flinch away as one jumps against the cell, shaking it._

 _It starts trying to squeeze through the eight inch wide gaps._

 _Which it probably can._

 _Thinking quickly, I unfold myself and lash out with my right leg. It connects with its head and I immediately hear a shrieking whine in response._

 _Backing away, it joins the rest in circling around the cell. Disappearing in a sea of blackness._

 _But now the others have gotten the same idea._

 _With sweat rolling down my face and into my eyes, I continue to kick at them as they also attempt to squeeze through the bars. Half blind from the sweat that's now continuously burning my eyes._

 _I lash out for what feels like the hundredth time, trying to defend myself. Except this one doesn't go quite as planned._

 _I scream out in pain as one of the dogs bites down hard on my calf, a haze of red washing over my eyesight as all I comprehend is pain._

 _I feel it loosen its grip on my calf for a split second before quickly chomping back down again. Getting a better grip._

 _They all start howling at my screams. As-if it's some sick omen to them._

 _The dog bites down harder, tearing through tendons and muscle._

 _Another scream leaves my mouth, my calf on fire. Panting, I lean forward, grabbing the dogs muzzle. Hoping to pry its jaws open._

 _I struggle to latch my hands onto its muzzle, only to find its skin is too slippery to get any good handhold._

 _Slippery from my blood._

 _I feel a cloud of fog settle over my brain, making everything blurry and unfocused, my calf growing uncomfortably numb._

 _With sweat falling into my eyes, I make one last effort._

 _Quickly, I jam my bloody fist down in-between my calf and the dogs mouth._

 _I cry out as I inch my forearm slowly down past razor sharp teeth and a wet hot tongue, my skin catching onto its teeth like a fishhook would to a worm._

 _With tears falling freely down my face, I force my fist down into the bottom of the dogs throat._

 _I hear it choke, its throat working as it tries to remove my arm. It suddenly jumps away, my unresponsive leg falling back to the ground with a sickening SMACK._

 _Quickly, I retreat back to the middle of the cell, my leg dragging._

 _Suddenly the dogs stop barking, and a unsettling quiet fills the air. The small door opens back up with a CLICK, and the dogs immediately exit the room._

 _Exhausted, and with the lower half of my right leg going completely numb, I lay down on the cold ground._

 _I let a deep shuddering breath out._

 _They're gone._

 _The lights come back on._

 _I look down at my right leg to examine it, almost vomiting once I see the state it's in._

 _There's blood everywhere. My leg, streaked across the floor where I dragged it like a sick abstract painting, my hands._

 _My right pants leg is torn to ribbons, my eyes landing on what's revealed underneath it._

 _Strips of bloody pinkish-red skin hang on by a thread where a large area of torn flesh now resides, my calf completely shredded with teeth marks._

 _I look away with disgust, my heart sinking._

 _I blink rapidly as I try to stop the sudden black spots that are now invading my vision._

 _The big door opens._

 _I hear soft footsteps walk in, stopping next to my head._

 _"Alex, what a mess you've made." A muffled voice chides, everything suddenly sounding like I've got a blanket wrapped around my head._

 _I try forcing myself to look up at the person, but my head feels like it weighs two hundred pounds, the effort too great._

 _"You've made me cut out some of my little sweethearts playtime." He scolds._

 _He continues to talk, but everything's gone oddly quiet, and I can barely make out the person through the sheet of blackness that now rests over my eyes._

 _I'm losing consciousness._

 _Right before I completely blackout, I watch helplessly as the person lifts their leg up above my right one._

 _Bringing it down right onto my bleeding flesh._

 _I let a bloodcurdling scream out._

 _Then, blackness._

* * *

Holding in a barely contained scream, I fling myself into a sitting position.

Sweat streams down my face, and I can't catch my breath.

I sit there, trying to calm my rapid breathing, my trembling limbs. Looking around, I notice I'm safely in my room, the covers half on the bed and half off.

Glancing down at my watch, I clear my head of the memory.

I feel a deep throbbing in my right calf.

With trembling hands, I pull off what's left of my covers. Reaching down, I slowly pull up my right pants leg.

About halfway up my calf there's a large patch about the size of my hand spread out of pinkish-white nasty looking scars. Where someone did a horrible job of sewing my skin back together.

Thank you Rat.

Sighing, I pull my pants leg back down. Reaching up with trembling hands, I run them down my tired face.

Go over my facts.

It's July eighth. 6:34 A.M.

It's been two _full_ days since I got kicked in the stomach with a soccer ball, _two_ days I've just been laying around on my bed snoozing.

Those pills the doctor prescribed me the other day apparently have some side affects.

SLIGHT DROWSINESS.

As the bottle states it.

But that would explain why I hadn't had any nightmares for awhile. Just the blissful emptiness I've long forgotten.

I was too knocked out to have any.

But I guess all good things must come to an end.

Sadly.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, wincing when I feel my right calf uncomfortable cramp up.

Reaching down, I rub it a bit, trying to ignore all the raised scars that just resurface all the bad memories.

It usually acts up like this when I've had a nightmare about that specific time. Or it simply just does it to do it.

It never really has a reason.

Not that a lot does.

Standing up, I'm glad to notice my stomach almost feels back to normal.

Well, normal for _me_.

I grab some clean clothes from the drawer, limping out towards the bathroom. After taking a quick thirty second shower, I get dressed, quickly combing my hair.

Walking out, I head downstairs.

Once I'm in the kitchen, I spot Lucy, Don, and Mack sitting around the table. Food sitting on the tabletop.

When I'm about halfway across the room, Mack spots me from his seat that faces my direction, his eyes widening.

I avoid eye contact, continuing towards my seat.

You could say things are a bit awkward between me and Mack. Since getting back from the doctors I haven't seen _or_ spoken to him, but I can tell he's still wondering what my problem is.

And he's yet to apologize for kicking me in the stomach the other day.

Lucy and Don suddenly notice me approaching.

Immediately Lucy stands up. "Alex! Should you be up yet? It's only been two days." She frantically asks, eyes filled with worry.

I walk the rest of the way over to my seat, trying to hide my slight limp.

Lucy notices anyway. "And your limping...?" She basically questions. Probably wondering _how_ I could've gotten injured from simply laying around in bed these past two days.

Oh you know, it's only because my calf is acting up.

I give her a small smile, my heart warming at her obvious concern. "I'm fine." I mumble out, taking a seat.

Lucy opens her mouth.

"Lucy, if he says he's fine then let him be." Don interrupts Lucy before she starts talking again.

With a small frown, she gets me a plate, sitting back down.

I place a piece of bacon on my plate and a salmon patty.

I look over at Mack.

He's staring over at me, curiosity shining in his eyes.

Ignoring him, I continue to try and eat the first food I've had in two days. But sadly after only eating my _one_ piece of bacon and a couple bites of salmon, I feel my stomach start to twist.

Getting a drink, I take my pills.

"So Alex, I was thinking I could take you down and show you the rest of the farm?"

Don suddenly asks.

Lucy splutters. "Don you can't do that, Quinn said for him to get plenty of rest." She reminds him.

Don raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that what he's been doing these last two days?" He questions.

Thinking that I wouldn't mind going outside and getting a breath of fresh air, I decide to give my opinion.

"I want to go." I say.

They both immediately stop their bickering, looking over at me.

Don looks over at Lucy, giving her a pleading look. "Oh alright, fine." Lucy huffs out, obviously not pleased.

"But _no_ walking for long distances. Take the truck and be back by lunch time." Lucy strictly says while getting up.

Gathering everyone's dishes she walks over to the sink and proceeds with washing them.

Don leans in closer to me, a smirk on his lips. "She's washing out her anger." He whispers.

I hear Mack chuckle.

Don smiles. "So in a minute we'll head out, and take you on a tour of the farm." He looks over at Mack. "You going?"

Mack glances over at me. "Sure, got nothing else to do right now." He slowly decides.

"Oh, and I wanted you to meet our farmhands also." Don adds in.

Great, meeting _more_ people.

Hopefully this won't end badly.

That I soon find out, is the understatement of the year.

* * *

 **A/N**

Ooh, how do you think that's going to go? What do you think of his nightmare/memory?


	14. Chapter 13

_**Alex's (POV)**_

"And this is where our farmhands live." Don explains.

I glance out the front window, noticing that we're on a decent sized hill that's a good distance away from the big farm house. Where those buildings are I saw last week when I arrived.

Yawning, I check the clock on the cars dashboard.

12:40. P.M.

We've been all over the five-hundred acre land, Don showing me the fields, cows, and more fields.

The big barn was probably the most interesting. Large round bales of hay stacked dangerously high, a variety of tractors, and even a couple ATV's spread around inside.

But to be honest, I'm kinda glad this is the final stop. You can only look at so many acres of flat land before it gets boring.

The four small square houses sit in a straight line. Three show obvious signs of use while the fourth looks empty.

Yup, looking closer I see the three have their outside lights on.

Wasting electricity.

"Where are they?" Don mumbles to himself, impatiently checking his phone.

He gets out, Mack following his lead.

Yawning once again, I open the door, stepping out into the warm air.

Those pills are already making me drowsy again.

Don looks around with a puzzled expression on his face. "They should be here." He grumbles, scratching the back of his head. "It's lunchtime."

"They're probably just late, Don." Mack deadpans, looking just as bored as I am.

But I guess it was better to go outside then just mope around the house all morning.

The sound of gravel crunching reaches my ears, and I turn around to face the way we'd come.

There's a small rusty looking black truck heading up the driveway, dust flying behind it.

"Ah, there they are." Don says.

Time to meet more people.

Sweat drips down my back from both the heat and anxiety.

The truck pulls into one of the three parking spot left, two people getting out. One tall, the other shorter.

They walk up to us. "Boss, is Lucy not feeding you enough lunch it's to the point you gotta come steal some of ours?" The shorter one with a big smile jokes to Don.

"Real funny." Don says, a small smirk on his lips. "Guys, I wanted to introduce you to our new family member that I told y'all about."

I feel a pang in my chest.

Except I'm not really family.

Don gestures towards the tall man. "Alex, this is Mr. Bill March." Then he gestures to the smaller man. "And this smarty pants here is Mr. Ben Finch." Don looks over at me. "Everyone, this is Alex Rider."

Mr. March looks to be about six foot six, lanky with long black hair. Dark green eyes quietly observe me, his features showing that he's probably in his late thirties.

Mr. Finch has a young face, easily somewhere in his early twenties. A mop of untamed red hair sits on his head, humorous blue eyes staring over at me. He's shorter then me, probably five foot nine, an obvious muscular build showing through his shirt.

"Just Ben." He reaches out for a handshake.

We do a quick shake, and I immediately stuff my hands in my pockets once we're done.

Mr. March gives me a simple nod. I return one.

"Alex Rider." Ben says, trying it out. "That's an _awesome_ name!" His eyes light up, and he smiles. "Sounds like a superhero, or even some sort of spy's name." He excitedly says, almost jumping up and down like a five year old would over a piece of candy.

Shock hits me like a brick wall, and I stare wide eyed over at him.

He just guessed it, and doesn't even know.

Before anyone notices my aghast reaction, I quickly look down.

"Where's Jack?" Don asks.

My heart stops.

"He had things to do." Ben absentmindedly answers.

My hands grow evermore clammy, my heartbeat now thundering in my ears.

Taking a couple deep breaths, I steady myself. He's just playing around, he doesn't know anything.

When I feel I've controlled myself, I look back up.

"Left him to gather the dogs up." Mr. March grumbles.

Dogs?

Of course they have dogs. What farm doesn't?

I feel my heart lurch in my chest, and I take a step back.

"Ah, there he is!" Ben shouts, pointing down the driveway towards another truck that's showed up out of nowhere.

"Oh, hey Mack!" Ben slaps Mack hard on the back, just now noticing him.

"Ow! Take it easy man, you trying to break my back?" Mack groans, a smile making its way on his face.

The other truck pulls into the parking spot next to Mr. March's truck.

My eyes stay glued to the tinted windows where I see movement.

A man who must be Jack, gets out. He's around six foot, looks to be in his mid sixties, gray hair with a full beard, a stocky build.

But what leaves me frozen in fear, are the two dogs that jump out after he opens the back door.

My mouth suddenly feels dirt dry, my hands that are stuffed in my pockets now noticeably shaking.

I unfreeze as they start walking towards us, taking a couple steps back so I'm standing behind Don.

Don looks back at me with a raised brow, but doesn't say anything.

The dogs bark in excitement as they notice there's company waiting to meet them.

I flinch at each one.

Peaking around Don, I find myself examining the dogs.

The smaller one has a red coat with brown spots and one blue eye. Which I don't know what breed he is. The other one I know is a border collie. She's has a simple black and white coat, hypnotizing blue eyes.

The red one jumps up on Mack, and I feel my breath catch in my throat.

"Down Diesel." A rough voice commands. Immediately Diesel sits, tail wagging.

Jack comes to a stop in front of everyone, the collie sitting obediently by his feet.

Looking around, I notice everyone's staring over at me with confused expressions on their faces.

Flushing red, I force myself to stand beside Don.

I mean, just so long as they don't jump on me I'll be fine...

Probably.

"Alex, this is Mr. Jack Hale." Don introduces.

Ben buts in. "Except don't _ever_ call him by his full name, only Don is allowed. I learned that the hard way." He frowns before rubbing the back of his head.

Don gives Ben the stink eye. "Jack, this is Alex." He continues.

Jack's eyes land on me, and I feel myself involuntarily shrink as he studies me with cold, calculating eyes.

"Pleasure." He says.

For a moment my mind flashes back to something else.

 _A smile_.

 _Amusing bright blue eyes._

I quickly come back to the present before I get too wrapped up.

Don't think about it.

Mr. March grumbles something to Don, then heads towards one of the houses.

"Don, Ben, give me a hand would you." Jack asks, heading towards his truck. Dogs following obediently after him.

I feel myself breath easier as the dogs head further away.

There's a sudden yell from my left, and I immediately look back over towards where Mr. March had gone.

He's up against the door that he just opened, his arms outstretched as if to grab something. And there, barreling out the door, is a large black and brown dog.

My heart literally stops, eyes widening in shock as I notice two important things.

1.) That dog is the exact same breed from my nightmares. Seeing it in full light now, I finally make out what breed they used all those times to torment me.

Doberman Pinschers.

2.) It's running straight at me.

"Duke! Heel." Someone shouts.

Not having anytime to actually do anything, I just barely manage to throw my arms up in time to cover my face.

I gasp as something heavy barrels into me, the force knocking me down to the hard gravel ground with a _thump_.

I cry out as sharp teeth pierce the skin directly beneath my right elbow, a hot slobbery mouth enveloping my arm.

Going into panic mode, I start thrashing around, my eyes sealed shut. People are shouting, but I can't hear them through the haze of panic.

Finally, the pressure is released from my chest, the teeth disappearing.

I slowly open my eyes.

Don and Jack are restraining a struggling Duke, the other two dogs running around while barking in excitement.

I feel a hot tear roll down my cheek, my body trembling all over, a tightness growing in my chest.

Barking, there's _too_ much barking!

 _Growls._

 _Barking._

 _Bars shaking._

 _Alone in the darkness, trembling in terror._

Curling up on the ground, I reach up to cover my ears, _trying_ to stop the flashback that's currently making itself known.

 _Teeth ripping into my calf like it's a juicy steak...clamped on, never letting go...a red liquid pooling on the ground like a river._

 _Blood everywhere!_

I feel more than hear my breathing switch to hyperventilating, my lungs not wanting to work properly.

Can't catch my breath!

I jump as someone touches my arm.

"Alex." Mack hesitantly says, obvious concern in his voice.

Ignoring Mack who's crouched in front of me, I look behind him. Everyone's staring over at me, and that's when I realize I'm basically having a panic attack in front of these people I _just_ met.

Don's holding onto Diesel, concern stretched across his face.

Mr. March is still in the doorway, eyes wide as he stares over at me.

Ben has a very confused/concerned look on his face, almost like he can't decide how to react.

Jack's simply staring at me, a thoughtful expression on his face: examining.

I feel an overwhelming embarrassment.

I shakily get to my feet, my eyes still glued to everyone else. Turning, I immediately run towards the safety of the truck. Opening the back door, I get in, slamming it shut behind me.

Scooting over towards the opposite side, I pull my legs up, wrapping my trembling arms around them, wincing when I feel a sharp sting.

Slowly, I pull my right shirt sleeve back, revealing the minor bite.

It's not that bad.

But I can't control the panic that comes bubbling up to the surface once I see it, once I take it all in.

Frantically, I take my other sleeve, attempting to wipe away the blood that's now seeping out from the bite, tears blurring my eyesight.

 _Blood everywhere._

My chest feels like it's about to explode.

Can't get enough oxygen!

I take a deep shuddering breath, my chest squeezing in more panic as all it comes out in is a strangled gasp for air.

Placing my arms back around my legs, I continue to try and control my breathing that's now getting completely out of hand.

My throat feels too tight, mouth horribly dry - like sandpaper.

I inhale.

Tears blur my vision, mouth trembling.

Can't exhale!

I grab the door handle, needing something solid to hold onto as my lungs spasm in their vain attempt to exhale.

"Alex, breath."

I glance over to my right as I hear a voice, only to see Don standing with the car door open, strategically holding it so no one can see in.

"Calm down." He gently says, face drawn with worry.

Choking, I finally gasp out a decent breath.

I place my forehead on top of my knees, taking deep shuddering breaths that shake my whole body.

"We're going back to the house now." Don announce, shutting the door before walking over to the drivers side.

I hear the passengers side door open.

Mack.

I hear them whisper to each other, only I can't make out anything through the sound of a rapid heartbeat in my ears.

I feel the truck move, then we're headed down the hill.

We stop after a few minutes, and I don't bother with looking up. The door opens that I'm sitting next to, a gust of wind blowing inside.

Don helps me down from the truck, and I almost gasp out loud as I step onto my right leg, a deep phantom pain running through my calf.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I take a couple more deep breaths, already finding it easier to breath now that we're farther away from the dogs.

"Come on, lets go take a seat inside." Don places a comforting arm around my shoulders, leading me into the house. Mack quietly following.

Don's probably afraid I'm gonna bolt up to my room and lock the door.

Once inside, Don has me and Mack sit on the sofa. "I'll be right back. No _one_ go anywhere." He looks specifically over at Mack, then walks into the kitchen.

I lean back against the sofa, pulling my legs back up to my chest.

I'm still scared.

Don's getting Lucy, which means...

With an unsteady hand, I quickly try wiping any leftover tears away. My mouth still trembling, waiting for me to let my bottled emotions out.

 _That_ was my nightmares all over again...my past.

"I'm sorry."

I whip my gaze over towards Mack, unsure of what I just heard.

"W-What?" I hoarsely ask.

He sighs. "I'm sorry about the soccer incident, okay." He runs a hand through his short hair, agitation clearly in his actions - like all this is too much for him. "I should've looked before I kicked."

He's forgiving me now? Right after I just freaked out over...dogs.

I'm not really sure what to think of that.

I give him a slight nod in acknowledgement, not trusting myself to talk.

He turns to the TV. Grabbing the controller, he switches it on.

Lucy comes in holding a small container, Don following.

She wordlessly sits down beside me, her warm examining eyes taking one look at my face before she suddenly wraps her arms around my shoulders, gently pulling me towards her.

I resist for a second, but as I feel hot tears begin to fall from my eyes once again, I give in. Laying my head on her shoulder, I wrap my left arm around her torso, keeping my right firmly tucked against my stomach.

I completely breakdown, the terror from practically reliving one of my nightmares too great to keep inside.

My body shakes from large sobs as Lucy slowly rocks me back and forth, her hand comfortably rubbing my shoulder.

So this must be what it's like to have a mother.

After a few more minutes, I'm finally reduced to hiccups and only slight trembling. My breathing has basically gone back to normal, chest no longer feeling like it's going to explode.

My calf only throbbing now.

But my arm...

I tense up.

She'll want to look at it, which means they'll _all_ see my wrist.

Mrs. Jones had said I could trust them. I didn't believed her then.

I can't trust anyone.

But judging from this whole week, I think I believe her now. They might actually care about me.

I've only been here for eight days, but I think I've already grown attached to them...even maybe trusting them...?

Mack.

Now him I'm not really sure about. But I don't think he's really a bad person in general.

Lucy slowly unwraps her arms from around me, and I look down at my lap, feeling almost...ashamed.

"Feel better now?" She quietly asks.

I nod my head in reply.

Using her right hand, she places it under my chin, lifting my head up to face hers.

"Are you alright?" She sincerely asks.

I shrug my shoulders, my eyes falling back down to my lap.

She gently takes my right arm with both her hands, holding it up to inspect.

Blood.

I feel my stomach twist.

Blood soaks through my sleeve, small tears where teeth ripped the fabric.

Looking around, I'm surprised to see Don is sitting on the other side of me, Mack still pretending to watch the screen when his attention is obviously over here.

"Can I look at your arm?" Lucy asks.

Such a simple question.

But I'm not a _simple_ person.

My heart speeds back up, sweat trickling down my face.

Hesitantly, I nod my head knowing I have no other choice.

She gives me a small reassuring smile, then with dainty fingers, she starts rolling my sleeve up.

Going around my trembling wrist is a discoloration that looks somewhat similar to a bruise. Only it's a inch wide bruise that goes _all_ the way around my wrist.

Where I hung from chains for a whole month.

My heart speeds up, an invisible hand closing around my throat.

Lucy pauses, looking down at it with wide eyes. Glancing over, I see Mack is also staring at it, mouth open in astonishment.

I don't bother looking over at Don. He probably has the same expression anyway.

"Alex, what happened?" Lucy whispers in disbelief.

My chest tightens, my body automatically shrinking up.

I _can't_ tell them.

"I-I don't want t-to t-talk about it." I stumble out, another tear sliding down my cheek.

She deflates, and I instantly feel horrible. They've done so much for me and yet, I can't tell them _anything_.

No, not _can't_.

Won't...?

"N-Not right now." I add, wiping my face on my shoulder in a attempt to get the stray tears.

She seems to except that for the moment, resuming her job on rolling my sleeve up.

Don lightly places his hand on my shoulder, and I look over at him. "We're here for you, Alex." His eyes hold only sincerity, his hand comforting.

My heart jumps.

Maybe I do have a family...?

I look him in the eye, whispering out two words.

"Thank you."

* * *

 **A/N**

Hello! I apologize for not updating in like, forever. But do Review!


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N - This is a repeat from the last chapter, only it's in a different POV.**

 _ **Don's (POV)**_

"Everyone, this is Alex Rider," I introduce.

Bill honestly looks like he could care less, and Ben, of course, is excited as ever.

That's just their personalities.

"Just Ben." He reaches out for a handshake, and for a second I don't think Alex will return the gesture.

Alex hesitates for a moment, but miraculously reaches out for a quick handshake before immediately stuffing his hands back in his pockets.

Bill just gives a stiff nod, Alex returning one.

Well, this is going better than I thought it would. I'll admit I was actually a little nervous about introducing Alex to them, but it had to be done.

After all, he is a part of this family now.

"Alex Rider." I look over at Ben as I hear his voice. "That's an _awesome_ name!" He suddenly gets that look in his eyes when he thinks of something he 'thinks' is smart. "Sounds like a superhero, or even some sort of spy's name." He continues.

You do have to admit that he does have a pretty cool name.

I glance over at Alex, who to my surprise is staring wide-eyed over at Ben. Quickly, as if realizing he shouldn't have done that, he reverts his face back to its usual emotionless facade, looking down at the grown.

What was all that about?

Getting back to business, I ask about the one person who's missing from this group.

"Where's Jack?"

Ben shifts his feet uneasily around. "He had...things to do."

I raise a brow.

They must have left him to do something by himself - as in they deserted him. Great, now Jack won't be in a good mood.

"Left him to gather the dogs up," Bill grumbles.

I'm sure that was only the half of it.

These two are _always_ leaving things for Jack to do by himself, finding excuses to get away. And he's older than both their ages combined.

But in the end they all get along okay, they just like picking on each other. Yup, I couldn't ask for better farmhands.

"Ah, there he is!" I cringe as Ben practically shouts in my ear.

Looking down the driveway, I make out the familiar blue truck.

"Oh, hey, Mack!" Ben slaps Mack on his back.

"Ow! take it easy, man. You trying to break my back?" Mack grumbles, a smile showing up on his face despite his anger.

Rolling my eyes, I watch as Jack gets out of the now parked truck.

I look over at Alex, only to frown once I take him in.

Instantly I know something's wrong.

Alex appears frozen in place, his hands that are stuffed in his pockets noticeably shaking as his eyes stay transfixed on Jack and the dogs.

They start walking towards us.

Alex suddenly unfreezes, eyes widening. He glances discreetly around before taking a couple steps so he's positioned behind me.

He looks up at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I stay quiet.

What's wrong?

The dogs bark, and I watch, speechless, as he flinches at each one.

My mind flashes back to the picnic we had for the Fourth of July, how he acted like that towards the fireworks.

Putting the pieces together, I glance from the dogs, back to Alex.

He's afraid of dogs...?

I look back over towards Diesel and Skye.

From the corner of my eye, I see Alex peek around me, his attention solely on the dogs. Maybe he'll see they don't mean him any harm?

Diesel runs towards us, jumping up on Mack, who's a couple feet away from us. His tail wagging like a flag in the wind as Mack strokes his head.

Always trying to get all the attention.

"Down, Diesel," Jack's rough voice commands, Diesel immediately obeying.

That's to be expected when the man is a dog trainer, and a pretty good one at that. The dogs are technically mine, but Jack keeps them up here, training them for farm work.

You could say he's a dog person.

Jack comes to a stop a couple feet away from us, Skye sitting at his feet. Now _she's_ the obedient one.

Ben, Bill, and Jack stare over at Alex, eyes full of confusion.

I mean, he is standing behind me, practically using me as a shield.

Alex seems to suddenly notice everyone's gazes, his face flushing red as he stiffly moves to stand next to me. So close his arm brushes against mine.

Hopefully he'll be fine...

"Alex, this is Mr. Jack Hale." I introduce, trying to speed things along so we can go.

Sadly Ben interrupts. "Except don't _ever_ call him by his full name, only Don is allowed. I learned that the hard way." He rubs the back of his head, a distant look on his face.

He really doesn't like it.

I give Ben a 'shut it or die' look, then proceed. "Jack, this is Alex." I finish.

He studies Alex, who only tenses in response, a bad feeling beginning to grow inside me.

"Pleasure," Jack says, his voice low and rough.

Everyone at first always assumes that Jack is an old, uncaring man. Kinda like how they do to me, minus the old part of course. But he really isn't all that. I mean come on, he loves dogs, _and_ he's a hard worker.

I hired him around ten years ago, and he's survived ever since.

Now that's saying something.

"I'm going to eat," Bill quietly grumbles out to me, his expression bored. He gets extra grumpy when he's hungry.

He starts heading towards Jack's house, where all the good food is kept.

"Don, Ben, give me a hand would you," Jack calls, walking back towards his truck.

I glance over at Alex, who seems more relaxed now. I follow Jack to his truck, leaving Mack with Alex.

Right as we reach the bed of the truck, I hear a surprised yell. Whipping around, I see Jacks' newest addition to his dogs race out the door in a blur of black and brown.

My heart freezes.

And he's heading straight towards Alex!

"Duke! Heel," Jack tries, but only having been working with him for a couple weeks, he sadly doesn't stop.

I run towards Alex, already knowing this is going to end in disaster.

Quick as a flash all eighty-five pounds of Duke barrels into Alex, who's eyes are wide open, arms coming up to protect his face.

He lands flat on his back with a _thump._

I watch powerless as Duke bites on to his right arm. Alex yells, blindly thrashing around.

Everyone's yelling at Duke to let go, but of course, it's not helping. Mack stands frozen in place a couple feet away from Alex, a stricken expression on his face.

Duke's standing with his front legs firmly positioned on top of Alex's chest, mouth still tightly gripping his arm while Alex continues to thrash around - like it's some sick game of tug-a-war. Which that's probably what the dog thinks.

I finally make it over to them, immediately grabbing onto Dukes' collar. Using my other hand, I grab the top of his muzzle. Letting go of his collar, I then use that hand to grab his bottom jaw. Prying Dukes' mouth open and moving it away from Alex's arm, I grab his collar once again, dragging him completely off Alex.

Duke tries bolting, but Jack grabs his muzzle while simultaneously leaning down to the dogs ear, whispering words to him.

The other two dogs go into a barking frenzy.

I look over at Alex.

He's still laying on the ground, his body now trembling, tears sliding down his horror-stricken face.

He closes his eyes again, curling up on the ground as he places his hands up to his ears - like he's trying to block everything out.

My eyes widen.

This _isn't_ good. The same exact thing happened on the Fourth of July.

Diesel walks closer to Alex to investigate, tail wagging softly. I grab his collar, positive that letting him get closer will only result in more disaster.

Noticing Alexs' breathing has picked up to almost hyperventilating, I make a move towards him when I suddenly see Mack stoop down beside him.

He places a hand on his shoulder, calling his name.

"Alex."

He slits his eyes open, completely bypassing Mack while he looks towards everyone else.

Finding that everyone _is_ indeed staring over at him, his face grows red again.

In embarrassment.

He quickly gets up, his shielded eyes watching all of us like we're a pack of hungry wolves. He gulps, then unsteadily runs towards the truck. Opening it, he climbs in, slamming it shut.

I let go of Diesel, preparing to walk over to the truck when a firm hand grabbing my shoulder stops me.

I look over my shoulder at Jack.

"Maybe you should give him a minute, it might help," He advices.

Bill clears his throat. "You didn't say you adopted a ' _troubled'_ kid." His voice comes out distasteful.

I feel a flash of anger.

Bill isn't usually like this. But he does have a tendency to put lesser people below him.

I turn so I'm facing Bill, a thunderous look on my face. "Why's it matter if we did, or didn't?" I calmly ask despite the anger I'm sure is coated all over my face.

Bill shrugs like he doesn't care either way. "They're nothing but trouble. It's in the name."

I blow a breath out.

"So your saying that _no_ one should care for them? That _no_ one should offer a home to those who are...troubled?" I half yell, my anger getting the best of me.

Now don't get me wrong. I care for my farmhands and I don't usually yell at them.

But Bill has crossed the line.

"Why don't you go inside before I do something I'm gonna regret," I quietly suggest through clenched teeth.

Bill's face flushes with anger before he turns, heading back into the house.

I take a couple deep breaths, placing my hands on my hips. Looking over at Mack, I see he has a shocked expression on his face.

Either from seeing Alex like _that_ , or from me yelling...Probably both.

"Boss, is Alex alright?" I turn towards a concerned Ben.

I'm about to say something when Jack beats me to it.

"Cynophobia," He randomly blurts out, a thoughtful look on his face.

Ben looks confused. "A what now?"

I agree with him.

Jack sighs. "I wouldn't expect y'all to understand." He pats Duke - whose calmly laying on the ground now.

Jack being a professional dog trainer - and a dog lover, likes to find dogs who people have given up on. He brings them here, works with them and does what everyone thought was impossible. Then he finds them a good home.

I don't let Jack bring in vicious dogs, and Duke isn't usually vicious, he just has his moment. Which, yes, involves biting people.

Jack found him about three weeks ago. Someone had been abusing him, so Jack got the police involved and now he belongs to him.

"It's a fear of dogs." He looks from me, to Mack, then Ben. "I've seen it plenty of times."

I frown.

That explains things, but leaves more unexplained.

"Usually it has to do with a bad experience with dogs." He scratches his beard. "And I'm sure that must be what happened to him." He pauses. "Trust me. I'm an expert."

But _what_ happened?

Alex I'm finding has more mysterious than Swiss-cheese has holes.

"And Don." I look back over at Jack. "I think taking in Alex was a great thing." He snaps his fingers, Diesel and Skye coming to attention. "Not enough caring people in the world for those who need it"

Alex is a great person. I can see it in him.

"Hope he feels better," He says before heading up to his house, all three dogs following.

"I agree with Jack," Ben says, only seriousness showing on his face. Which is something for him.

"Thanks Ben," I tell him, appreciating the support. He nods, then walks towards Jack's house. "Good luck." He finishes, looking over his shoulder at me.

I glance back at Mack. "Come on."

We walk over towards the back of the truck.

Having Mack stay back, I open the side door.

Inside, I see Alex has his knees up to his chest, one arm wrapped around his legs while the other holds on to the door handle.

His face straining as he tries to breathe, a bluish tint coloring his skin.

"Alex, breathe," I calmly say, trying to mask my own anxiety I can feel bubbling to the surface at just the sight of him. "Calm down."

It seems he's having another panic attack.

My heart speeds up as I watch Alex suffer just to breathe, a horrible choking noise coming from his mouth.

I can't stand things like this.

He suddenly takes a deep, shuddering breath that shake his already trembling body, his head angled back against the seat as he keeps the air flowing out from his lungs. The fear in his eyes lessening just a bit.

At least he's breathing now. I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't gotten himself to relax long enough to take a decent breath.

"We're going back to the house now." I say out loud now that I see he's breathing better, also to reassure myself.

Lucy will know what to do.

Stepping back, I shut the door. "Get in," I tell Mack as I pass him.

Getting into the driver's seat, I start the truck up. I then lean closer to Mack, who's in the passengers seat. "When we get to the house I'm going to find Lucy, you stay with Alex." I whisper out.

Mack nods.

After a few minutes, I pull into my usual parking spot.

I get out, opening Alex's door. Helping him down, he then wraps his arms around his chest, taking some deep breaths.

He seems to be doing better.

Walking to the house, I place an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, lets go take a seat inside," I gently suggest.

Going into the living room, Alex takes a seat, Mack sitting a little further down.

"I'll be right back. No _one_ go anywhere." I look at Mack, knowing Alex has a tendency to run away.

Going into the kitchen, I'm glad to see Lucy's here and not somewhere else, happily cooking at the stove top.

I walk up to her, getting straight to the point. "Alex had another panic attack." She looks up at me with wide eyes.

"Where is he? Is he alright?" She quickly questions, concern overcoming her.

"He got bitten by Duke, and he's in the living room."

She quickly turns off the stove top, grabbing the first aid kit in the cabinet before she heads out towards the living room.

Going in, she heads straight over to a still Alex. Sitting down, she takes one look at his face before wrapping him in a hug.

This is why I knew we needed Lucy.

Alex resists for a second, and I see his jaw tremble, more tears filling his glassy eyes.

He wraps one arm around her, placing his head on her shoulder before he starts full out crying. Great, terrible, gut-wrenching sobs.

I feel a sadness deep in my heart.

He looks so...afraid.

What's so terrible that it causes this to happen?

I take a seat on the other side of Alex.

After a few more minutes, Alex is reduced to just hiccups, his sobs long gone.

Lucy pulls away. "Feel better now?" She asks.

He nods his head, looking down. Lucy places her hand under his chin, bringing his head up to meet hers.

"Are you alright?" She questions.

He shrugs, avoiding eye contact.

She pulls his right arm up to inspect the bite. "Can I look at your arm?"

He tenses, but gives a small nod anyway.

Slowly, she starts rolling his sleeve up.

I've partly seen it before, but it still leaves me shocked and rooted in place. I didn't know it was this bad.

Going around his wrist is a discoloration about an inch wide.

No wonder he always wears long sleeves.

And again, it reminds me somewhat of handcuffs. But not like police handcuffs, more like some other type...

Was he...abused?

It would make sense.

Alex, what happened?" Lucy whispers out.

He shrinks up, obviously not liking the question.

"I-I don't want t-to t-talk about it," He stutters out, another tear falling down his cheek as he looks away.

I feel my chest tighten.

No one deserves this.

"N-Not right now," He whispers out.

He's family, and I'll wait forever if I have to.

"We're here for you, Alex." I seriously say, hoping he'll believe me.

He looks shocked for a moment, then he looks me in the eye.

"Thank you."

 **A/N**

I sincerely apologize for not updating. Life's been busy and it's been hard enough keeping up with my other books on Wattpad. Anyway, I know this is just a recap of the last chapter, but I guess when I was writing it I liked to show scenes in different points of view.

 **Review!** I'll be back soon!


	16. Chapter 15

_***Warning: Mild Torture Scenes!***_

 _ **Alex's (POV)**_

 _I'm sitting on a cold, metal chair, both my legs and my arms strapped down._

 _Razim is in the process of attaching those sensors with the sticky ends to my forehead, and a couple to my bare chest._

 _Julius stands in the corner, a smirk on his face._

 _Once Razim finishes, he backs up, looking his work over. Turning around, he walks over to the telly that's positioned in front of me, switching it on._

 _"It seems Miss. Starbright here is being a bit adventurous today," Razim flipiantly says._

 _My heartbeat picks up when I notice it's a live video feed of Jack. She knocks out a guard next to the gate, moving out from the view of the camera._

 _She's...she's escaping._

 _The screen flickers, then it switches over to another view of Jack, where it shows her getting into a Land Rover._

 _I feel panic fill my chest, the breath leaving my lungs._

 _It's too easy. Doesn't she see that?_

 _Who am I kidding? She wouldn't care if it seemed too easy. She'd take any chance to get away, any chance if it meant she could help me._

 _As headstrong as ever._

 _"You destroyed everything." Razim's emotionless voice echoes throughout the room._

 _Alarmed, I look up at him._

 _"Don't hurt her," I beg, hating how low I've stooped but determined to try anything to help Jack._

 _No jack, don't do this._

 _Don't risk your life for me!_

 _Razim motions Julius over. He walks up next to him, pulling out a small hand remote._

 _My chest tightens in despair when I get an idea of what they're doing._

 _My breathing picks up as I rigorously strain against the straps that are holding me down, my chest rapidly rising and falling._

 _This can't be happening!_

 _"Please!" I shout, hearing the desperation in my voice, raw and begging._

 _Razim gives me a blank stare, Julius grinning as he clearly enjoys this. Razim leans uncomfortably closer to me, right up next to my ear._

 _Then he whispers; "You destroyed everything," he repeats. "So I'm going to destroy everything you ever cared for."_

 _My heart stops, eyes widening._

 _No._

 _Quickly, I look back down at the screen._

 _The vehicle must have a hidden camera in the dashboard. It's a view of her in the driver's seat, red hair in tangles, hands gripping the steering wheel with a white-knuckle grip, face set in a determined frown._

 _Then I understand._

 _The camera._

 _They planned the whole thing._

 _"Julius." My eyes whip up towards them, their positions now next to the screen. Razim motions towards the controller, his eyes never leaving me._

 _Julius - my clone, reaches his arm out with the controller, looking at me._

 _I stare into his identical, but cold, eyes, silently begging him not to do this. But all I see swirling in his dark eyes, is an all consuming hatred._

 _Hatred for me._

 _"NO!" I scream in fury and despair as I watch myself slowly push down on the red button, my mind going haywire as I try to fully comprehend what's happening._

 _The last thing I see before I blackout from all the overwhelming emotions, is Jacks' unsuspecting body erupting with flames, skin completely melting off bone as the car bomb goes off._

 _Her bright red hair disappearing with the flames._

I fling my eyes open, a gasp for air leaving my parched lips. Tensing, I sit up. I check my surroundings, heart thumping in my ears.

I'm in my room.

I relax.

Reaching a trembling hand up, I run it across my face.

 _Jack_.

With a lump growing in my throat, I pull my legs up to my chest.

Of course there had to be a Jack that lives here, bringing bad memories back to the surface. I hadn't really given it much thought yesterday.

But you know, I _was_ busy having a panic attack.

I run a hand through my thick, unruly hair.

I've noticed recently that sometimes certain things trigger my nightmares.

Meeting Jack yesterday must've set me off more than I thought. I mean, come on, it's just a name, thousands of people are named Jack.

But to me, it's not just a name.

I check my watch; 4:05 A.M.

Great, a grand stinking total of four hours of sleep. Fantastic. Knowing I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep, I shakily get to my feet.

With trembling fingers I put my shoes on, softly cursing when I can't even tie my shoelaces correctly in this condition.

Quietly I open my door, heading down the stairs. Carefully maneuvering around all the squeaky boards I've already memorized.

Once I'm outside on the back deck, I let a big breath of air out I hadn't even noticed I'd been holding in. Looking up, I take in all the millions of bright stars. I sigh. Bet they don't have trouble sleeping.

If they even sleep...

Shaking my head at my own silliness, I cautiously look around.

I know I'm being overly paranoid, but after yesterday I can't help but think a dog might jump out and attack me at any given moment...

I'm a paranoid person.

When I'm satisfied nothing's going to eat me, I make my way down towards the big oak tree with the tire swing.

I've found it comforting to come out here after a specifically bad nightmare.

Sitting down beside the trunk, I pull my knees back up to my chest, arms automatically wrapping around them.

I don't know why I always sit like this when I'm overly worked up.

It just feels...comfortable.

Coming out of my deep thoughts, I notice I'm still catching my breath, arms trembling, heart hammering.

Attempting to calm myself down before I end up in another panic attack, I concentrate on all the night noises.

Crickets chirping, owls hooting, the cool summer wind rustling the leaves in the trees.

It helps a little.

I literally feel like there's a brick laying on my chest.

Guilt.

I should've done things differently.

So far I'd been doing a good job keeping the tears away, and I noticed I've been crying way too much this past week.

But tears don't like to listen

My eyes sting, and the tears start sliding, uncontrolled, down my face, jaw trembling.

She probably felt something before she died.

She suffered. Even if it was only for a couple seconds.

And it was _all._ my. fault.

I continue to let the tears fall, not bothering to conceal them. I deserve this, I deserve all this pain that eats me alive, that keeps me up until two o'clock at night, that burns inside of me wherever I go, _whatever_ I do.

I get swallowed into my own grief, tears blurring my eyesight for what feels like forever. But before I know it, the sun starts coming up, its rays of light hitting my face.

Shaking my head, I pull myself away from my dark thoughts, my head feeling like it's in a black cloud.

I check my watch again; 6:25 A.M.

Lucy's probably inside making breakfast now, Don sitting at the table reading his newspaper while he waits.

I'm not hungry.

But they'll get worried.

Getting up, I'm glad to see that I'm no longer trembling. I wipe my face off, feeling the grime on my skin.

Though I should probably go wash my face off first, don't want them seeing the tear tracks.

Making my way back inside, I catch a waft of bacon as I'm going up the stairs.

My stomach turns.

I grab a change of clothes, glad to see Mack isn't occupying the bathroom.

Quickly showering, I get out, feeling the normal trembles run throughout my body, heart hammering in my ears.

You could say I don't like water anymore. If you haven't already guessed that.

Going out, I place my dirty clothes in the hamper.

When I'm back downstairs, I head into the kitchen.

Don's already sitting at the table - as predicted, absentmindedly reading the newspaper. Lucy over at the oven as usual.

Mack nowhere in sight.

He's obviously not a morning person.

Sitting down, I'm greeted with a morning from both Lucy and Don. I force myself to mumble out a reply.

Catching the smell of bacon again, my stomach gives another painful twist.

Trying to ignore it, I get a drink of orange juice that's already been poured into my cup.

Lucy walks over, placing a slice of toast, two pieces of bacon, and a couple scoops of scrambled eggs on my plate.

She moves onto Don, and I just stare down at my plate.

I can't eat all that.

Not wanting to be rude, I take a small bite of toast.

"I've told you guys this, like, a million times. Y'all get up _way_ too early," A yawning Mack says while walking over to his seat.

Don looks amused. "Are we stunting your growth?" He playful questions.

Mack frowns - like he's seriously thinking the question over. "Yeah, no wonder I'm so short," He replies, sitting down.

Lucy smiles. "Well you do come from a family of short people, dear." She serves Mack some food. "So don't expect to grow much." She finishes off with a smirk.

Mack frowns again. "Totally _not_ fair," He grumbles, stuffing food in his mouth.

I manage to force down two bites of toast, three spoonfuls of eggs, and a nibble of bacon. Mentally patting myself on the back, I decide I can't eat anymore.

Nudging my plate up a little, I cover a yawn as I take my pills.

I don't care what you think. Four hours of sleep is _not_ enough time for some people to function properly.

I notice Lucy eyeing my still full plate, then she switches to examining my face with keen eyes.

I avoid eye contact.

When I'm about to get up and head to my room, she starts talking.

"So Alex, Mack." We both look over at her. "After lunch, Don and I have something planned to do today," She announces.

I frown slightly.

I'm not in the mood for 'doing things'.

I just want to go lay on my bed, and not do _anything_.

I nod, excusing myself from breakfast.

I make it back up to my dark room, laying down on my bed as I become aware of the weight that's back on my chest.

It had mostly been gone when I was in the company of everyone else, my mind off it. But now it's back full force.

The doctor back at the hospital had said it's best for me to stay around people whenever I get this feeling.

Whenever I get depressed.

But like I said earlier, I deserve to feel this way.

Curling up on the bed, I feel a hollowness fill my heart, the cloud settling back in my head.

No one cares for me, _everyone's_ against me. Don and Lucy are just pretending, I _can't_ trust them, _can't_ let them in.

Jack was the only one I could trust.

I shouldn't even be alive after everything I've endured. She should... _They_ should.

Banishing those thoughts from my mind, I shake my head, a whimper making its way, unbidden, from my mouth.

They do care for me. It's not just an act.

It's. Not. Just. An. Act.

With these thoughts racing through my mind, I manage to fall into a much needed fitful sleep.


	17. Chapter 16

Alex's (POV)

I'm sitting in the back seat of the truck, Mack sitting on the opposite side of me. Don driving, Lucy sitting passenger.

Sighing, I lay my head against the window. Lucy had come up to my room around twelve to get me for lunch, Don and Mack already eating.

But I hadn't eaten anything, didn't have the appetite to even attempt to eat, that relentless weight still on my chest.

Now I'm stuck in the truck going who-knows-where, the only clue being that Lucy had looked oddly excited when she was talking about it.

Glancing down at my watch, I notice it's almost two o'clock.

I feel the truck slow down. Looking outside, I see we're approaching town. Don takes a right as we enter town, then a couple more turns before stopping.

He parks in-front of a large brick building, the pavement showing its age with dozens of cracks, the paint fading. looking up at the large neon sign that hangs above the entrance, I finally see what all this hassles been about.

 **VIDEO ARCADE**

Frowning, I step out of the truck as everyone else does.

Why would Lucy want to take us here?

"This is going to be so much fun!" Lucy exclaims as we walk towards the entrance.

I look over at Don and Mack, curious as to what their reactions are. Both have large smiles plastered across their faces, a spark of excitement in their eyes.

Of course she just wanted to come here for fun, there doesn't have to be a reason.

Looking around as we go in, I see it's a large, slightly dark room. Colored lights hang from the ceiling, the arcade game screens glowing in the dim lighting.

Some eighties music fills the room, matching the rest of the settings to a T.

The arcade games go around the whole length of the room, rows of them going up and down the middle, creating pathways.

I scan the room.

There's only a few groups of teenagers around, a single employee reading a magazine over behind a small desk in the corner.

Lucy looks back at me. "You have been to an Arcade before, right?"

A long, long time ago.

I give her a nod.

She digs through her purse, bringing out a ten dollar bill. She hands it to Mack, patting him on the head - much to his annoyance.

"Share the money, stay together, and have fun!" Lucy instructs, a big smile on her face. "We'll find you guys when it's time to go."

She looks at Don. "Come on, dear. Let's go play a game!" She giggles like a little school girl, grabbing his hand.

I watch her drag a reluctant Don over towards an older looking game, my lip twitching as I resist the urge to smile.

Mack laughs.

With a smile on his face, he turns to me. "Might as well go spend this money." He waves the ten dollar bill in front of his face, pretending to take a big whiff of it. He then walks over to a coin machine, exchanging it for quarters.

Standing there, I find myself continuously looking around, my mind not liking the dark settings.

Mack starts walking down a long row of games, his eyes examining each one. He suddenly stops, looking back at me when he notices I'm not following him.

"You coming?" He looks me over like he's making sure I'm not about to have another panic attack.

I feel stab of anger.

I'm not that fragile.

Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I walk up to him. He shrugs to himself, continuing down the lane before stopping at one.

Pac-Man.

Mack looks over at me. "How about this one?" He points at it with his thumb.

Liking this one, I nod my head.

"You can go first." He offers, sliding two quarters into the machine before he takes a step back.

I hesitantly place my hands on the controller, for some reason expecting a trick of some sort.

The game starts.

Guess he's just being nice...?

Time flies by, and as I get lost in the adrenaline of gaming, I feel the weight on my chest grow lighter.

I hide a small smile.

Eventually we've played so many games I can't keep track of which one did what, the room like a maze.

Mack stops in front of something once more, placing his hands on his hips. Moving closer, I make out the unmistakable game of darts.

I've never actually played this game.

"Ever played before?" Mack asks, giving me a sidelong glance.

I shake my head.

He sighs. "Alright, so each player starts with five-hundred and one points. And you take turns throwing three darts." He takes a breath, obviously trying to make the explaining hurry along. "Well, basically you just reduce the five-hundred and one points to zero."

He walks up to the board, pulling the darts off. Coming back, he hands me three blue ones, keeping three red ones for himself.

He points towards a yellow line on the floor. "That's where you throw from." He explains.

He moves so he's standing right behind it.

Lifting up his right arm that's holding the red dart, he takes aim at the board. Throwing them one at a time, he gets the last one right in the middle.

"Oh yeah, bullseye!" Mack shouts, pumping his fist in the air.

He steps back, letting me move to the line.

I examine the distance and the board, my mind automatically analyzing each angle. Testing it out, I throw one of my three darts, wincing as it makes the fresh wound on my arm throb. I ignore it, throwing the other two.

One gets close to the bullseye, but the other two are a good distance away.

"Guess you're not so good at this game." Mack playfully mocks.

I roll my eyes.

He's just upset I ended up beating him in almost all the other games we played.

"Alright, I've got four-hundred left, and you have..." He pauses, his face scrunching as he mentally counts the score.

Four-hundred and thirty-four.

Just because I don't know how to play, doesn't mean I don't know what the points on the board are.

"Four-hundred and thirty-four." He announces after a couple seconds.

Mack steps back on the line once he's gathered the darts back up, throwing them again. Only he doesn't get a bullseye this time.

Stepping back, He gives a small growl in annoyance.

Back on the line, I weigh the dart in my hand, getting the feel of it. Readjusting from last time, I aim at the board, throwing it.

It sails straight through the air, stabbing right into the middle of the round board with a soft thunk.

A perfect bullseye.

Feeling my competitive side bubble to the surface, I throw the last two, getting a total of two bullseyes and the other decently close to it.

Stepping back, I look over at Mack.

His eyes are wide-open, staring over in disbelief at the board, mouth hanging slack.

Controlling my urge to smile, I motion him towards the line.

"W-What just...happened?" He stumbles out, looking over at me.

I shrug.

"I thought you said you've never played before?" He questions, still staring at me.

I self-consciously rub the scar on the side of my neck, glancing away. I don't like being stared at.

Maybe I shouldn't have done that? I'm sure normal people don't usually score that well on only their second try.

But like I've said before. I'm not normal.

"Beginners luck?" I quietly suggest.

He finally stops gaping at me, going back to the line as he takes aim. "I can't believe I just got owned by a newbie." I hear him mumble out to himself.

Without meaning to, I feel a smirk grow on my face.

Throughout the rest of the game I can't help but get at-least one bullseye each round. All the while knowing I could get all three, but not wanting to be even more of a freak to Mack.

After about ten more minutes, I win the game.

Expecting to hear a whole-lot of complaining from Mack, I'm surprised when he just turns towards me, sighing in-defeat.

"Eh, you only beat me by twenty points." He says. "Good game." He gives me a smile.

I return one.

He seems surprised for a second, but then his usual smirk grows back on his face. "We should get Don to go up against you sometime." His eyes twinkle with mischief.

I hear the door to the Arcade open, and I glance over at it.

Another group of about six-eight teenagers come in, their backs turned to us as they head over to the coin machine.

Mack continues talking, not yet noticing them. "He's always bragging about how much bett..." He trails off as he suddenly notices the group of people who've come in.

Glancing over at him, I see his eyes have gone wide again.

Only it's not out of surprise this time.

It's out of fear.

Before I can react, Mack reaches out, roughly grabbing me on the upper-arm as he pulls us behind some of the arcade games.

With my heart hammering in my ears, I quickly rip his hand off my arm, taking a step away from him. looking down, I take a couple deep breaths, trying to calm the panic I can feel building up inside me.

I don't do well with surprises.

Or with people unexpectedly touching me.

After I've relatively calmed myself down, I look up. Mack's leaning around the arcade game, looking over where that group was last time I saw them.

I don't think he noticed my little...episode.

He looks back at me. "I-um, why don't we go find Lucy and Don?" He quickly checks his phone. "It's already five o'clock, time for supper." He distractedly says.

What's up with that?

Pushing that thought to the back of my mind for later, I follow Mack, noticing he keeps checking around each corner before going out in the open.

We find Lucy and Don over at a Star Wars game, their full attention focused on it.

Looking at the scores, I see Lucy's winning.

"Come on Don, is that the best you can do!" Lucy yells.

Smirking, Don mumbles. "Well unlike some people here, I didn't grow up in a video arcade." Just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Lucy good-heartedly bumps Don on the shoulder, making him miss a couple starships in the process.

"Your just jealous." She teases as they finish the game.

Don's about to say something, but Mack interrupts him. "Well, we're done. Can we leave now?" He rushes out.

They both stare at him.

"What? I'm hungry." He defends.

Lucy checks her watch. "Oh my, it's already five." She looks over at me. "Alex, are you ready to go?"

I give her a nod.

She looks back at Don, a smirk growing on her face. "Guess I was having too much fun winning." She nonchalantly says, raising a brow at him.

Don grumbles something incoherent under his breath, walking towards the doors.

Lucy looks back at me and Mack. "Big baby." She whispers.

Mack seems back to his old self now, giving her a smirk in return.

We pile back into the truck. "I guess we'll find somewhere to eat?" Lucy questions to Don.

He gives a nod, starting the truck up.

Sitting back in my seat, I notice the weight is completely gone from my chest. Guess that doctor was right after all about spending time with people. The hard part is getting yourself to actually do it.

After a short drive, Don pulls into a restaurants parking lot. I look at the sign.

Cracker Barrel.

Once we're parked, we all get out, heading towards the door.

As we're waiting to be seated, I scan the large room.

It has about twenty people seated around in it, and about ten-twelve employees.

The two sitting off to the side are police officers, the six over at the larger table are here as a family get together, obviously waiting for more relatives. The other two positioned next to the potted plants are here on a date, and the one sitting completely by himself is actually a undercover celebrity enjoying a nice quiet dinner to himself.

What can I say? Old habits die hard.

A waiter comes over, leading us to a four chair table that's up against the wall.

Lucy and Don fill up the two seats positioned together, forcing me and Mack to sit next to each other. Once I'm seated, I notice I'm actually hungry.

Not eating all day does tend to give you an appetite.

I lean back in my seat, arms wrapped around my stomach as I listen to Lucy, Don, and Mack talk.

"You guys should've seen Alex with the darts." I swing my gaze over towards Mack.

Don and Lucy give Mack a curious look, and I shrink down in my seat as I realize where this conversation is going.

"He said he's never played before, but on his second turn he almost got three bullseye's!" Mack practically shouts, his eyes going wide as he recalls my so called 'miraculous' feat. "He could totally beat, Don." He finishes.

I quickly look down at my lap, feeling my cheeks heat-up as their gazes turn towards me.

"And you think he could beat me?" Don asks, his voice telling me he's intrigued.

"Oh yeah, totally." Mack daringly answers, his eyes staring Don down.

Don leans back in his chair. "Hmm, guess we'll just have to test that theory out then." He decides.

A waiter comes over, introducing herself before she gets our drink orders.

After she leaves, Lucy looks between me and Mack. "Come on, we better go wash up before dinner. Don, watch our spot please."

We split up with Lucy, and I follow Mack towards the restroom.

Once we're inside washing our hands, I can't help but feel a deep curiosity about earlier.

Deciding I can't ignore it, I look around to make sure no one else is around.

I keep my eyes focused on the running water. "Why we're you afraid of that group in the arcade?" I quietly question, my attention still on the water.

Surprised, his hand movements completely stop. And from the corner of my eye, I see he's staring over at me with something akin to bewilderment.

I should've expected that. He's never heard me actually ask a question before.

His lips move around, trying to form words. "I-I'm not afraid of them." He harshly spits out, squaring his shoulders.

Undaunted by his attitude, I look him in the eye. "Then why we're you avoiding them?" My voice comes out stone-cold-serious, eyes unblinking.

He seems completely surprised that I questioned him yet again, but even more so because I looked him in the eye.

They all know I don't like eye contact.

I'm even a bit surprised at myself.

He tries to hold my hard gaze, only managing a couple seconds before he looks away. Clearly uncomfortable.

Finally, he sighs in defeat, shoulders slouching.

He runs a hand nervously through his hair. "You could say the leader of that little...parade, doesn't really like me." He winces at the end - like it's a understatement.

Pausing, he dries his hands off with a paper towel.

He suddenly perks up. "But there's no use moping around over it!" He decides. "lets go see if it's time to eat yet. I'm starved." He finishes, but I see his eyes don't match the perkiness in his tone.

Maneuvering around me, he opens the door and heads out.

I just stand there for a moment.

What could possibly make the carefree Mack act like a nervous wreck?

Deciding I'll figure it out, I head back out to join everyone else.

* * *

A/N

Hey guys!

So I hope y'all like this chapter.😃 also I just wanted to say that I have no idea how to play darts, so let's just roll with it and pretend I do.😜

Question time!

1\. Why do you think Mack is afraid of that group of teenagers?

I'd love to hear what your opinions are!

P.S. I apologize for whatever it was that happened to this chapter after I published it last time. No idea what that was about.

Maggy


	18. Chapter 17

_**Mack's (POV)**_

"Why we're you afraid of that group in the arcade?" My hands pause underneath the running water.

Turning my head, I stare over at Alex who's still washing his hands like he didn't just ask a question.

Did he?

Never, _ever,_ in the five days I've known him, have I heard him ask a _single_ question.

Not one.

I continue staring at him, my mind not comprehending exactly what's happening.

Flapping my lips around, I try forming an answer that seems to be stuck somewhere in my mouth. "I-I'm not afraid of them," I harshly say, squaring my shoulders as I try to make it seem like the question doesn't bother me.

But it does.

He turns his head, dark, emotionless eyes staring straight into mine. "Then _why_ we're you avoiding them?" His voice comes out dead serious, a shiver running down my spine at how dangerous he suddenly sounds.

I try holding his unwavering gaze, not wanting to back down.

And, as I'm staring into his eyes for the split second I can, I notice something about them I'd never noticed before.

His eyes look...wrong.

That's the only word I can think of to explain it.

They look like they've seen, witnessed, and experienced _way_ too much for his short span of life.

There's no emotion, no nothing. Just darkness. But, as I'm staring into them, I suddenly catch a glimpse of something unexpected, making the hair on my arms stand up.

 _Cold_.

 _Scarred_.

 _Broken_.

 _Hate_.

My breath catches in my throat.

 _Darkness_.

Not able to look anymore at what's slowly starting to become a horror show, I tear my gaze away, heart hammering in my chest.

That was...uncomfortable.

Sighing, I let my shoulders drop.

Might as well tell him something.

I run a hand through my hair. "You _could_ say the leader of that little...parade, doesn't really like me."

That's an understatement.

I grab a couple towels from the paper towel dispenser, drying my hands off.

I can't tell Alex the main reason I was avoiding them was because...of Alex himself. Because I opened my big mouth.

But they forced me.

You see, that little 'gang' is the schools' bully and his little pack of minions.

Somehow they'd already caught-wind that there was a new kid in town.

And knowing that I'd personally met this 'new kid,' they cornered me at the Fourth of July picnic while everyone was busy packing things up to leave.

Said they wanted some information on him, some _leverage_.

Knowing it was either get a bruised rib, or tell them something good about the person I was jealous of. I told them the _one_ solid thing I knew at the time.

He's afraid of fireworks.

And I regret it now.

Because sooner or later they're going to corner him. And when that happens, they're going to teach him his place in this town.

It'll be disastrous.

Thinking quickly, I perk myself up. "But there's no use moping around over it! lets go see if it's time to eat. I'm starved." I try sounding carefree, but one look at Alex, who's still standing there, emotionless, I know he's not convinced.

Moving around him, I head out the door.

Sitting back down in my seat, I see our drinks have already been delivered, Lucy looking over the menu.

Don gets up. "About time y'all finished up," he mumbles out, heading towards the restroom.

Alex sits down beside me.

He's back to his normal self now. Eyes staring down at his lap, arms around his stomach.

No sign of the unwavering, serious boy in the restroom.

I look over my menu, my mind on anything _but_ eating.

* * *

It's now ten P.M.

Since getting back from supper around seven, I've showered and brushed my teeth. I'm now currently sitting in the living-room, watching some TV.

Lucy and Don, being the early birds they are, have already gone up for bed.

Alex had gone into the bathroom right after I'd gotten out ten minutes ago. And knowing him, he's probably going to stay up there.

No company from him I guess.

Sighing, I lay my head back against the sofa.

After half an hour of mindlessly watching colors on the screen pass by, I get up, deciding to hit the hay.

As I reach the top of the stairs, I look over towards Alexs' bedroom door.

It's shut, no lights evident.

Going into my room - which is positioned on one side of the bathroom, while Alexs' is on the other - I shut my door, laying down on my bed as I let the day catch up to me.

* * *

I slowly blink my eyes open.

Why'd I wake up?

I'm usually a _very_ deep sleeper. As-in it would take a _lot_ to wake me up.

Yawning, I sit up, looking over towards my digital clock.

4:47 A.M.

I groan. Not even Lucy or Don would be up at this horrible hour. Getting up, I head out the door and into the hallway.

As I'm about to walk into the bathroom, I stop.

What was that?

I position my head to the side.

There it was again.

I feel my heart jump in my chest, goosebumps popping up along my arms. It sounded like a...like a muffled scream.

Alex.

Walking a little further down the hallway, I stop in front of his door. Leaning in closer, I hear rapid breathing on the other side, the rustling of sheets before there's another muffled scream.

My eyes widen.

He must be having a nightmare...?

Before I know it, the door flings open and I'm left staring into the fear-stricken face of Alex. His breathing comes out in short, choppy spurts, arms wrapped around his stomach, eyes wide open.

He quickly looks down at the ground, pushing past me as he makes his way towards the stairway.

I'm left standing there, stunned by how much raw fear I saw in those eyes.

Should I go get Lucy and Don?

Before I've even made up my mind, I find my feet already walking me down the stairs. When I reach the bottom, I decide he's probably gone outback where it's more open.

I step outside the backdoor, looking around I find I can barely see anything due to the darkness of the night.

Stepping down into the grassy yard, I start walking towards the tire-swing.

Halfway there, I stop.

Alex is sitting beside the oak tree, knees pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around them, head sitting on-top of his knees.

Walking closer, I watch as he tenses up at my presence.

Why am I even out here?

Guess there's no point in going back inside now.

I walk over to the tire-swing, placing my elbows on top of it as I cup my head in between my hands. Then I just stare out over the orchard like Alex.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see he's slightly trembling, breathing still rapid.

He's not about to have another panic attack is he?

I would never admit it out-loud, but he actually scared me when he had that one I witnessed. I'd never seen a panic attack before in my life, never even really thought about it.

But watching someone have one in person, made me realize something.

 _Anyone_ that goes through something like _that_ , must be some of the strongest people in the world.

And he might not realize it, but he's gained my respect.

Never again will I think he's some snobby-brat that's out to completely ruin my life.

No, he's much more than that.

Maybe eventually we can even be friends...? But friendships always start with one person making an effort.

I look over at him. "What's wrong?" I quietly ask, even though I'd already guessed about the so called nightmare.

I watch as he brings both shaking fists up to his eyes, rubbing them.

He'd been crying.

Alex keeps his attention out over the fields. "Nightmare," he mumbles so quietly I barely make it out.

Even though I'd assumed it was that, it still leaves me concerned.

How in the world do you sleep when you're _fully_ aware that you could have a nightmare that reduces you to this?

Then I notice for the first time; dark circles mark the skin underneath both his eyes, face drawn with exhaustion.

Maybe he doesn't sleep much.

What happened?

What's with that odd mark on his wrist?

How'd his stomach get to be that way?

A thought pops up in the back of my mind, a thought I'd been trying to keep back.

Sighing, I slide my head and my shoulders through the hole in the tire, looking over at him.

"Alex," I say, trying to get his attention.

Slowly, he turns his face over towards me, eyes downcast so they don't meet mine.

I take a big breath, letting the question spill out. "Alex, were you...abused?" I lightly ask, waiting for what I hope is an answer.

For a second his eyes widen and they meet mine, the shield completely gone as I watch transfixed as, more emotions then I thought possible, reflect in his unguarded eyes.

 _Guilt_.

 _Pain_.

 _Terror_.

 _Insecure._

 _Humiliation_.

 _Sorrow_.

 _Dejection_.

I try to look away, but I can't. It's almost like he's _trying_ to tell me something, something important, I just don't know what...

I'm broken from my thoughts as I hear his voice. "Not in the way you're thinking," He answers my question, eyes leaving mine as he looks back out over the orchard.

I pull in a deep breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding.

What does that _even_ mean? And _that_ doesn't even qualify as an answer.

So no parents or foster parents abused him...a teacher?

Then what?

Settling back down, I decide to just leave the subject alone for the rest of the morning.

I'll figure it out eventually.

And that's a promise.

* * *

 **A/N**

Hmm, looks like both Mack and Alex are going to try figuring each other out. Wonder who's going to figure out who first? Should be quite interesting. 😆

Hello y'all!

So I hope you didn't hate Mack's POV. I know he's a little annoying and he still has a ways to go before his character is solidified, but he'll grow on you. So I've heard. 😂

Again I apologize for whatever it was that happened to my last chapter I posted. If it happens again please be sure to tell me or else I'll probably never know. Call this chapter a gift after making y'all deal with that.

And some of you guessed as to why Mack was avoiding that group at the arcade but none of them were correct. (As you can see in this chapter) Don't get me wrong. They were great guesses! Just not the right one. 👍

Review! I'll see about updating again here soon!

Maggy


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